Weaver of Fire and Water
by Exylim
Summary: Another teen, just what we needed. i have a feeling, though, that I won't be disapointed. She seems strong enough...i wonder what her powers will be...or if she'll get along with the other members... Xemnas's journal entry
1. Chapter 1

Exylim's Story

Come stop your crying, it will be all right  
Just take my hand, hold it tight  
I will protect you from all around you  
I will be here don't you cry  
For one so small, you seem so strong  
My arms will hold you keep you safe and warm  
This bond between us cant be broken  
I will be here don't you cry  
And you'll be in my heart  
Yes, you'll be in my heart  
From this day on  
Now and forever more  
You'll be in my heart  
No matter what they say  
You'll be here in my heart  
Always  
Why cant they understand the way I feel  
They just don't trust what they cant explain  
I know were different but deep inside us  
Were not that different at all  
And you'll be in my heart  
Yes, you'll be in my heart  
From this day on  
Now and forever more  
You'll be in my heart  
No matter what they say  
You'll be here in my heart  
Always  
Don't listen to them, cause what do they know  
We need each other, to have and to hold  
They'll see in time, I know  
When destiny calls you, you must be strong  
I may not be with you, but you gotta hold on  
They'll see in time, I know  
Well show them together cuz...  
You'll be in my heart  
I believe, you'll be in my heart  
Ill be there from this day on  
Now and forever more  
You'll be in my heart  
No matter what they say  
You'll be here in my heart always  
Always...  
Ill be with you  
Ill be there for you always  
Always and always  
Just look over your shoulder  
Just look over your shoulder  
Just look over your shoulder  
Ill be there always

Ienzo sighed softly, looking at his 2 year old sister. "Don't you forget who I am." He said to her. _I never will, I promise. _Ienzo blinked, confused. He looked around, then at his sister but she couldn't talk yet. "Who said that? Is there someone here?" he asked his sister. "No, what am I thinking. We'll meet again someday." With that, he pulled out his favorite book, tucking the song behind the last page and glued it to the inside back cover. He put it on her book case. Taking one last look at his sister, he left the house, running away to apprentice Ansem the Wise.

_12 years later_

"Honey, time to get up!" Yawning, Emily rolled out of bed only to fall face flat on the floor. "Owww! Not again!" she exclaimed angrily, tears collecting in the corners of her amber eyes. Blinking them away, she changed into a pair of black jeans and put on a black sleeveless shirt. The chains around her wrists clinked together as she grabbed her shoes on the way out of her room along with her backpack. Racing down stairs, she said hi to her dad, grabbed some food, and ran down to the Sandlot.

"Here she is," a boy shouted. Emily turned to the voice to see 2 boys walking towards her. "Geez, what took you so long?" "Oh I know Pence; she fell out of bed again." The second boy replied. "Shut up Hayner! Oh, yeah, we better start running, we're going to be late again." Emily said back. As the 3 kids ran off, 2 people in black cloaks with their hoods up talked to each other softly. "Are you sure she's the one?" One of them asked the other. "I'm sure she's the one, Saïx." Saïx pulled down this hood, shook out his blue hair and shot the other hooded person an uncertain look as they walked into a portal.

"Emily! Earth to Emily," Hayner said knocking lightly on Emily's head. "What?!" Emily asked, slightly annoyed. "Pence and I were just saying we should meet at the station later. Can you meet us there?" Hayner asked. "Umm… sure… I'll meet you there… after school…" Emily said, deep in thought. She was thinking about the strange dreams she kept having. She saw in her dream a boy with blue hair covering one of his eyes. He held a book in his hand. _Maybe it has something to do with that book. Maybe it's in my room… _Emily thought.

"Do you think she'll notice if we drew on her face with our paint?" "I don't know, lets find out!" Emily felt something wet on her face. "AHH!" Emily shouted as she fell of her chair. Sitting up she touched the wet spot, only to find it was water. "Ha-ha, very funny," Emily said as she glared at her 2 friends. "Is everything alright?" Emily looked up to see her teacher standing over her. "Y-Yes ma'am," Hayner and Pence pretended to be surprised to see her on the ground as their teacher looked at them, then walked off to talk to some of the other students. "Gee, thanks guys. Now I feel like crying," Emily said as her friends helped her off the ground. "Glad to be of service!" Emily threw her paintbrush at Hayner, hitting him in the head. "Hey! That hurt! How come you hit me in the head? I wasn't…" _DING, DING, DING. _The bell cut of what Hayner was saying. "Hey wait up!" Hayner shouted as Emily and Pence left him, racing down the hall to the courtyard.

_Later that day_

Emily looked through her bookcase, finding no book that looked like the book the boy in her dreams held. "Come on Emily!" Pence shouted to Emily. "Hayner could have climbed the station tower 5 times already!" Sighing, Emily stood up and followed Pence out the door. She and Pence ran up the hill to the station, finding Hayner, who was pretending to be asleep. Faking a yawn, Hayner asked, "What took you so long? What were you 2 doing?" "I'll tell you when we get to the top," Emily, who looked deep in thought, replied.

Saïx and another hooded figure watched them run up the stairs. "The girl, that's the one Xemnas said was the one." The hooded figure asked, "Why her? Why not one of the boys?" Saïx sighed and said, "To tell you the truth, Xigbar, I don't know. Xemnas hasn't told me yet." Xigbar pulled his hood off, revealing his long ponytail and a black eye patch over his right eye. "So let's go get her." "Not yet," Saïx hissed. "We'll get her in 6 days." He opened a portal and walked in. _I wonder what's so special about her_ Xigbar thought as he followed Saïx.

_That night_

_The boy beckoned her to come… He held the book up and said "In the bookcase is this book, a gift to you from me. It was my favorite and will help you later on in life. You need to have the book with you at all costs." "Where is the book? I couldn't find it. Who are you?" Emily franticly asked the boy, but he smiled, then faded away. Emily felt the ground disappear from beneath her. Falling, falling into nothingness…_

Sweat dripped of Emily's forehead as she sat up, looking around. _"The second shelf." _Emily got up and looked on the second shelf of her bookcase. She felt something guide her hand to a book and she pulled it out. It was the book the boy in her dreams held!

Looking at the book, Emily could faintly read the title, which said: Illusion and Levitation. Looking inside, Emily noticed the book was hand written, including sketches of the mind, the body, and the eye. Flipping to the end of the book, she noticed the last page was glued to the back cover. Peeling the page back, Emily pulled a slip of paper out of the book. It was a song. Suddenly, she remembered making a promise to the boy, promising never to forget him. He had given her the book and the song when he left her. _Who is he? What does he want from me? How does he know me? I wonder if he knows my name. I'll ask him tomorrow… _Emily thought to herself, falling onto her pillow, asleep.

_School, next day _

Emily was in deep thought all morning, ignoring Hayner and Pence. "What do you think is on her mind?" Hayner asked Pence. "I don't know. Maybe we should ask her after school." Pence answered as they followed Emily down the hall. "It must be something big. She's been like this all morning. Maybe her family is moving." Worrying, Hayner sat next to Emily in their next class, trying to distract her and get her to talk to him. That didn't work.

After school, as Emily walked down an alleyway, Hayner tackled her as Pence blindfolded her and tied her hands together. "Hey!! Let me go you guys. This isn't funny!" Emily tried to stand up, but Pence held her down. "We'll let you go as soon as you tell us what's been on your mind all day." "It's none of your business so leave me alone." Emily said tartly. Knowing that she couldn't get away from her friends, she sighed, then said, "Okay, fine. Remember this?" Emily said as she stuck out her arm. "We remember." Hayner and Pence replied together, held their forearms against hers. "I promise that I'm telling the truth." Emily said. "We promise to believe you no matter how crazy it sounds." Hayner and Pence recited.

"Good," Emily said. "For the week or so, I've been having dreams about a boy with indigo colored hair. In my dreams, he wore a black coat and held a book. I found the book last night. I've been reading it and so far it's about illusions and levitation. In the back of the book there was piece of paper with a song on it." Hayner and Pence thought for a minute, then Hayner said, "We need to find out who he is and how he knows you. How old do you think he is?" Emily thought, then replied, " I don't know. He looks older in every dream I have. Let's go to my house, that is, if you plan on releasing me." Emily said with a grin. Pence untied her hands, then took the blindfold of as she stood up and stretched. Then, without warning, Emily sprinted down the alley, leaving Hayner and Pence in a cloud of dust, coughing.

Authors note: For those who actually read my story, sorry about all the alerts and stuff. I had to go back and fix things. Anyways I do not own the Kingdom Hearts seiries or the story line. None of the characters are mine exept Emily/Exylim. She is a character whom I created after myself. The name Exylim was suggested to me by **The Hero Hartmut, whom I don't know if they have a FF account.** The title is a name my friend DarkEriksRedRose came up with. I owe her alot. She is the one who turned me on to KH and Final Fantasy. Thank you! 


	2. Chapter 2

"So this is the book." Hayner said as he examined the book. Next to him was Pence, reading the song. "How old was he last night? Well, I mean in your dream?" Pence asked. "He looked about 20 but he's short." Emily replied, "He seems like the quiet type. Apparently he likes to read and write." Hayner looked up and held the book up. "He's also interested in levitation and illusion. He's a good writer." "Do you remember anything else?" Pence asked Emily. "No. Did an author live around here?" Pence shrugged, and Hayner said. "Let's ask your mom."

After asking her mom, who said no, Emily, Hayner, and Pence walked to the Station and climbed to the top of the tower. "So that was pointless. What do we do next?" Pence asked, his feet hanging off the edge of the building. "You sleep over at my house so we can look for more information about the boy." Emily said, pretending to push Hayner off the edge. Hayner screamed, and fell backwards onto the ledge. Pence and Emily were laughing as Hayner glared at them, making them laugh even harder.

_Later that day, at Emily's house_

"Wake us up as soon as you wake up. Don't do anything without us." Hayner said to Emily as they settled into their sleeping bags. "Hayner, we won't be able to wake you up. You sleep like a log." Emily teased Hayner, and then ducked as he threw a pillow at her. "Oh, yeah. I forgot to ask you at school. How come you hit me? You wouldn't have noticed if we waved our hands in front of your face. How'd you know if I painted on you? Pence could've been the one who painted on you." Hayner asked Emily. She yawned and said, "I'm tired. Let's go to bed. If we have to, Pence and I will pour water on you to get you to wake up. Right, Pence? Pence?" Emily and Hayner looked at Pence, who was fast asleep in his sleeping bag. Emily smiled and closed her eyes.

"What is so special about the girl? Why not one of the boys?" Xigbar pestered Xemnas as they walked down the hall. Xemnas pulled his hood off and looked at Xigbar. "For the last time, she has a strong heart. She is looking for someone but I can't found out whom." Saïx joined them as they walked down yet another hall. "Zexion seems to disappear more often now. I wonder if he knows anything." Saïx hinted Xemnas. "Very well, you may try to get some information out of him. Just don't hurt him a lot. We still need him."

_Emily looked around for the boy, finding him was floating in the air. "Who are you?" She asked him. He smiled and said, "That is not for you to know yet. I'm going to teach you how to levitate today." As the lesson went on, Emily asked, "Will I be able to do this in the real world?" The boy shuck his head, "No, but very soon you will." "What do you mean?" Emily asked, surprised. "You will find out soon enough." The boy faded away…_

Emily woke up, felling confused. "Hayner? Pence? Wake up." "Whattimeisit??" Hayner asked half awake. "4:00 am. I had another dream." Sitting up, Hayner poked Pence and said, "Get up sleepy. Emily had a dream." Pence groaned and sat up. "What did he tell you this time?" Hayner asked. "Well, um…, he kinda taught me how to levitate." "Really!! Show us!" Pence said excitedly. "I can't. It doesn't work in real life. The boy said I would be able to soon. Does he mean… I'm going to die?" Emily said, suddenly panicking. "Whoa. Slow down." Hayner said. "Maybe he meant you aren't strong enough yet." Pence said, then prepared to duck but Emily didn't throw anything at him. "Let's go back to sleep." She said.

"Let me go Saïx. I don't know who you're talking about!" Zexion tried to get away, but Saïx grabbed his are. "We know you know who she is. Maybe this will make you tell us that you know her." Saïx bit Zexion's arm as he tried to get away. Zexion yelped, then punched Saïx in the face. "You little brat!" Saïx screamed as Zexion fled to his room. Looking at his arm, Zexion's face turned pale as he watched his blood drip onto the floor. Saïx had gone slightly berserk when he bit him and his fangs had pierced deep holes. Walking into his bathroom Zexion cursed quietly and washed his arm.

Emily, Hayner, and Pence looked for 2 days for any information about the boy. "This isn't helping. Let's give up." Hayner said. "Emily, we've looked and looked but we can't find him." Pence said. Emily was about to give up when they heard a voice. "So you're giving up. That's a pity." Turning around, the trio saw a man in a black cloak with his hood up. "Who are you?" Emily asked. "Are you the boy?" The man pulled his hood down, revealing his long silver and black hair which was up in a pony-tail. "Nope. You've never met me. Who are you?" He asked. "Xigbar!!" Another man in a black cloak appeared. "Enough. This will go quickly if you work with us." He said to her. "What do you want with her?" Hayner asked, standing in front of Emily. "Foolish boy, you can do nothing to stop us." "Saïx, let's get them now." Xigbar shouted as he ran towards the 3 kids.

Xigbar dodged Hayner as he tried to tackle him, then kicked Hayner, making him fly into a brick building. Pence said to Emily, "Run!" "We can't leave Hayner!" Emily said. Suddenly she had an idea. "If I go with you, will you promise not to hurt my friends?" Xigbar stopped, surprised. "Xigbar, time to go." Saïx said as he opened a portal and dragged Xigbar in. The portal closed and the 2 men disappeared.

Emily ran to Hayner, who was crying softly. "Hayner what's wrong?" Emily asked him. Faintly he said, "I think my arm is broken. I can't move it." Pence ran over when Emily called him. "Run and get Hayner 's parents. His arm is broken." Pence nodded than sprinted down the alley. After he was gone, Emily said to Hayner, "You're going to be all right. I have a surprise for you." Hayner looked at her as she kissed him on the lips softly. "Thanks for trying to protect me." Hayner blushed and said, "It didn't really help. I…" He stopped as she kissed him again. "Still, thanks." Emily sat down by him and they waited for Brad to come back.

"Xigbar, you idiot. You should have waited for Xemnas. He's going to kill us both." Saix glared at Xigbar. "Saix, Xigbar. You do realize you didn't have my permission to hurt them. But, you made the girls heart stronger. We will accept her 2 days." Xemnas said after the 2 men sat down. Xigbar smiled at Xemnas and shot a look at Saix that said _In your face!!_ Saix glared at him then walked out of the room.

"Hayner are you ok?" Emily asked as he stretched his arm. "Yeah, I got I have control over it now." Pence was gulping down a bottle of water. "Who were those people?" Emily asked. "I've never seen them before." "They obviously know you." Pence said. "I'll see you guys tomorrow. I gotta go." Emily stood up. "Me too. We'll see you tomorrow." Pence left, but Emily went over to Hayner and kissed him on the cheek. "See you tomorrow." Hayner blushed as Emily walked out of his room.

_2 days later_

After school, Emily and Hayner walked home together, since they lived of the same street, after talking to Pence, who said he had to run an errand. A few hours later, they went looking for Pence, who they found unconscious in the same alley the men attacked them in. Pence was unconscious for 1 more day, and then woke up to see Emily and Hayner in sleeping bags on the floor. "So you decided to fall asleep and make me get up and get a glass of water." Pence teased as they woke up and they slide out of their sleeping bags. "You final decide to get up after 2 days. We thought you were dead." Emily said. "Yeah, Emily started crying." Hayner said and Emily punched him. "I've been out cold for 2 days? It feels like I've only been out for an hour." Pence sat up, then grimaced. His head hurt.

"You should relax for a while. Unfortunate for us, you get to stay home for 2 more days." Hayner said and Pence grinned. "Ouch. That hurt, too." Emily looked at him and said, "Well, no duh. You kinda had a bruise the size of a baseball on your head when we found you. Do you know who hurt you?" Pence thought, than said, "No. I wasn't looking when they hit me on the head. I felt pain and I was K.O." Pence lied down and Emily looked at the door, then at Hayner. "We should go. We'll come over tomorrow so you don't die of boredom." "Yeah. See ya tomorrow." Pence said, and then fell into a dreamless sleep.

As Emily and Hayner walked down to their houses, Emily said to Hayner, "Let's go check out the alley. I want to see what anyone touched anything." Zac look uncertain. "Okay, but only if we go really quickly." Emily, ran ahead, then waited for Hayner as he walked down the alley. "So, the girl came. Let's get her." Emily whipped around to see the man Saïx and another cloaked figure. "What do you want with me? Who are you?" Emily asked. "We need more members. You have been accepted and will be joining whether you want to or not." Saïx said as his claymore appeared in his hands and the cloaked figure held energy blades. "Wait! If I go with you, will you leave my friends alone?" Emily said. Saïx look at the cloaked man. "What do you think Xemnas?" "It is good to see you will be coming with us." Xemnas said to Emily as he pulled down his hood. His gaze fell on Hayner and he said, "Would you like to see your friends' death? Or would you rather leave now." Saïx had crept up behind Emily and suddenly blindfolded her. Emily screamed and tried to tear the blindfold off but Saïx had tied it tight. "Hayner, RUN!!" Emily shouted. Saïx lifted her of the ground as Hayner stood, frozen in place. He was scared, no, petrified. "Let's get this over with." Xemnas pulled out a dagger. "You will die the same way as Zexion." Emily screamed as something stabbed her heart, then everything went black.


	3. Chapter 3

Falling… Just falling… Falling into nothingness…

Hayner watched in horror as his friend was murdered. His senses kicked in and he screamed, then ran as fast as his legs would let him to get Brad, Emily's parents, and the police. "Shall we take her body?" Saïx asked Xemnas. "No. We will find her nobody soon." Xemnas opened a portal and the 2 men walked through it.

Hayner was crying as he ran into his house. "What's wrong Hayner?" His mom asked. Still crying, he said, "Emily… was murdered… I couldn't do anything…She's dead…" Hayner collapsed onto a chair. "Oh my. I better go see Emily's parents. Where is she?" Hayner's mom asked. "In the alley behind the school." His mom left and Hayner went over to Brad's house to tell him the news.

A girl lay on the cold, wet ground. She stood up and looked around. "Where am I?" She asked herself. "You, my dear, are in The World that Never Was." The girl spun around to see the man a man in a long black cloak behind her. "Who are you?" She asked him. He smiled and replied, "I am Xemnas. You might remember me. I killed you." The girl's eyes widened. "I'm dead?" "Not completely. You are a nobody, as am I." Xemnas replied. The girl was still confused. Her head started to hurt and she allowed herself to collapse on the ground. "What is your name?" Xemnas asked the girl as she rubbed her head. The girl looked up. "I…I…I think it's Emily." The letters e-m-i-l-y appered in the air. They spun around in a circle until Xemnas shot his hand into the middle of the letters. A giant X had appered. "Exylim…" The girl read. "That is your new name. You will earn a nickname later. You are now a member of the organization. You, Exylim, are the 14th member." Xemnas grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet. "Where are you taking me?" She asked faintly. "To Castle Oblivion." He opened a portal and pulled the girl through it.

Exylim blinked as they appeared in front of a door. Xemnas opened the door then pushed her into a room. It was pitch black. "Stay in here. Someone will come for you soon." Xemnas closed the door, then opened a portal to his room. "Saïx, get everyone to the throne room. Our newest member as arrived." Saïx, who was sitting on a chair, stood up and left to gather the other 11 members.

A half an hour later, Saïx came and took Exylim to the throne room. "What is going on?" She asked, struggling a bit, as her eyes turned a bluish white. "You will see soon enough. Stop struggling or you will regret it." Saïx said, tightening his grip. 5 minutes later, they stood in the middle of a white room. There were 13 thrones, 11 of them occupied by a cloaked person. It was impossible to tell the gender of each person. "Welcome Exylim, you are the newest member of Organization XIII." Xemnas said. "Number 7; please show her to her room. For the rest of you, go to the living room and wait for their return."

Saïx led Exylim to her room. "Once you get settled, you may design your room. Let's go to the living room. You will meet the other members." After about 5 minutes, they came to a door. Saïx opened the door and they walked in. "This is number 2, Xigbar." "You know me. Your friend certainly remembers." Xigbar said as Exylim glared at him. "Number 3, Xaldin." "Hi, I'm Xaldin." A man walked up and pulled his hood down. He had side burns and crocked eyebrows. "Number 4, Vexen." "Over here." Exylim looked over to see a man leaning over a chemistry set. Saix continued, "Number 5, Lexaeus." "Nice to meet you." A tall man walked over and Exylim shuck his hand. Exylim grimaced as he crushed her hand. "Number 6… Number 6? Hmm. He seems not to be around right now. I'm number 7. Number 8, Axel." "Hiya. My name's Axel. Got it memorized?" A teen with spikey red hair walked over. "I think so." Exylim replied staring at the identical upside down tear drops tattooed (?) under his eyes.

Saïx continued on, "Number 9, Demyx, and number 10, Luxord." A teen with a mullet waved, "I'm Demyx." A man with short blond hair said, "And I'm Luxord." They immediately went back to their card game. "Number 11, Marluxia." A man with pink hair looked up and said, "That's me." Exylim stared at his pink hair, then looked away. "This is number 12, Larxene. "Hi. Good to see another girl among us." A girl with blond hair waved. "Number 13, Roxas." A boy Exylim's age walked up. "Hi." He said shyly and blushed. Exylim blushed and said, "Hi." Suddenly the door bursted opened and a boy with indigo hair walked in. Exylim stared at him as he stared at her. She had seen this boy in her dreams.

The boy, really a teen know, gasped. Exylim stared at him as he stared at her. "You're the boy in my dreams." Exylim said in awe. "Y-yes, I am. I'm also your long lost brother." The boy said. "My name was Ienzo. Now I am Zexion. I ran away when I was 12. Do you remember the night I left?" "Yes. I do. I really do." Exylim said. Zexion walked up to her and hugged her. A single tear ran down his face. Exylim hugged him back, burring her face into his coat. "I thought I'd never see you again." Zexion whispered. "Neither did I." Exylim whispered back, eyes turning purple. "We'll, this is weird." Axel commented. Exylim and Zexion pulled apart, blushing. "So you 2 are brother and sister? How come you didn't tell us, Zexy?" Demyx asked. "He doesn't tell us anything, you idiot." Larxene said. "Zexion, to my office immediately." Xemnas said. Nobody realized he as in the room. Zexion looked around, then followed Xemnas out of the room.

Nobody moved for a minute, then Saïx followed the Superior out of the room. "Well that was surprising." Demyx said. "The emo kid has a sister." Exylim stared at him. "He never told you?" She asked. "Nope. He hardly talks." Axel said. "So now what?" Exylim asked. "We wait to see what Zexion's punishment is." Everyone went back to what ever they were doing before.

_Later that night_

Exylim walked around the castle hopelessly lost. "Do you need help finding your room?" Exylim turned around to see Roxas. "Uh. Kinda. How'd you know I was walking around?" Roxas shrugged. "I don't know. I just did. I'll walk you to your room." He said and started walking. Exylim followed him. "By any chance, did you live in Twilight Town?" Roxas asked as they walked down a hallway. "I think I did. Why?" Emily replied. "Did you know anyone named Hayner, Pence, or Olette?" Roxas asked shyly. "Um… I hung out with Hayner and Pence. Olette drifted away to Seifer's gang." Exylim replied as equally shy.

"How can you get around this place? I've gotten lost about 20 times already." Roxas laughed. "I got lost a lot at first too. Axel showed me around. So Zexion is your long lost brother?" "I guess so." Exylim said. "Here we are. I'll see you tomorrow." Roxas said. "Yeah. Good night." Exylim walked into her room as Roxas walked back to his. "Wait… Why didn't I just teleport us here?" Roxas asked himself. He slapped his forehead as he opened a portal and walked through it.

"Exylim? Are you in there? It's Zexion." Emily got up and opened the door. "Good morning. Did you sleep ok?" Zexion asked. "Not really. Roxas found me walking around at midnight. I got lost." Exylim replied. Zexion laughed and said, "Get dressed. You'll find some clothing in the closet. We're going to find out what your power is. I think I know already. I'll wait for you outside." Zexion walked out and closed the door.

Exylim opened the closet door and put on the black shirt and pants, then put the coat on. She slipped into a pair of silver lined boots that surprisingly fit Exylim. Lastly, she slipped on the long gloves. She opened the door then walked down the hall with Zexion. "So what is your punishment?" She asked her brother. Zexion laughed and said, "To find out what your power is. Xemnas is tired of nearly being killed. Axel almost burnt him 10 times when he was tested. Hopefully you won't kill me." Exylim punched him playfully. "So what are we doing now?" She asked him. "Dodging food. Nobody eats with manners here."

Breakfast was a mess. Someone coughDemyxcough got syrup in Axels hair and Axel nearly light the table on fire. Xemnas ate calmly through the whole thing. Xigbar tried to steal one of Saïx's pancakes, only to end up having a fork japed into his hand. Roxas spilt milk on Xaldin and ended up hanging on the wall with six lances piercing his coat. Exylim was giggling as Roxas glared at her. "You have a milk mustache." She giggled again as she and Axel helped Roxas down. He ended up falling onto the ground. "Exylim, let's go." Zexion said quietly as he walked by. "I'll tell you what my power is when I come back." Exylim said to her new friends.

"Have you ever looked at your eyes when you're happy? Or sad? I mean, if you had feelings." Zexion asked. "No, why?" Exylim asked. "Your eyes change colors to what mood you would be feeling." Zexion replied. "Try to remember something that made you happy." Exylim instantly thought of Hayner. Her eyes changed to purple. "Look at your eyes." Zexion said, handing her a mirror. "Whoa. They're purple. That's new." Exylim said. "Is that good or bad?" "Bad for you, good for your enemies." Zexion replied and took the mirror back. "You're going to have to wear your hood up or a blindfold. Your choice." "I think I'd rather wear my hood up." Exylim said. "Now let's find out what you can do." Zexion said as they entered a large room.

The room was huge with windows on one end of the room, over looking the garden. "In your dreams, we where able to speak. You actually were thought speaking. Can you hear this?" Exylim listened hard, and found she couldn't. "No." She said. Zexion said, "Open your mind up. You will hear what I am thinking." Exylim cleared her mind and concentrated on her brother. _Good. I feel your presents in my mind. What am I going to do next?_ Zexion thought._ You're going to ask me what your mood is. You're calm. You seem to give off a turquoise glow. _Exylim thought back immediately. "Good. You are a mind reader, a thought speaker, and a mood reader. Now let's see if you can control any thing like earth, plants, fire, water, etc." Zexion said. He walked over to a table that had appeared out of nowhere. "In each jar, there is an element. I think the element you can control with turn purple when you touch it."

Exylim walked up and touched the first jar labeled Earth. Nothing happened. Then she touched the jar labeled Lightning. Nothing. Nothing happened when she touched the jar that was floating, the wind jar, the ice jar, the illusion jar, the moon jar, the card jar, or the jar that held a key. Exylim started touching the jars 2 at a time and touched the fire jar and the water jar. Both turned purple instantly. "Interesting combination. Axel and Demyx will both have to teach you." Zexion said as he looked at the fire and water jars. "Go find Axel and Demyx and tell them to meet Xemnas in his office. You will need to go with them. No doubt they'll be in the living room. I'll go get Xemnas. Stay with Axel and Demyx so you don't get lost." Exylim nodded, then found her way to the living room after 5 minutes.

"Hey Exylim, what is your power?" Roxas asked when he saw Exylim. "Yeah. Did you get your brothers ability to smell things?" Axel asked and Demyx, who was sitting next to Axel, snorted, trying not to laugh. "Nope. I'm a mind reader and a thought speaker and a mood reader. Oh yeah. I can control fire." Exylim said. "Yes!" Axel interrupted. "And water." It was Demyxes turn to cheer. "Yeah! I get to teach her." "So do I. Fire is better than water." "No, water is." "Fire!" "Water!" "Fire!" "Water!" "Fire!" "Water!" "Fire!" "Water!" "Guy. Stop." Roxas cut in. "Fire!" "Water!" "Fire!" "Water!" "CHEESE!" Roxas screamed randomly. Axel and Demyx stopped fighting and started cracking up. "Thank you Roxas. We have a meeting with Xemnas." Exylim said. Axel and Demyx shot up. "Why didn't you tell us? Xemnas is going to skin us alive." Axel practically screamed. "I never had the chance to. You 2 bicker too much. Let's go." Exylim retorted. Axel, Demyx, and Exylim raced down the hallway to Xemnas's' office. "See you later Roxas." Exylim shouted. Roxas just stared at the spot where the 3 had just been standing.

"We thought you 3 got lost. What took you so long?" Xemnas asked. Exylim just looked at Axel and Demyx. Demyx coughed. "Never mind. You obviously know that you will be teaching Exylim. She doesn't have any control over her powers yet." Xemnas said as he lift Exylims' hood up. "Wear your hood up when you are on missions. We don't want anyone to see your eyes change colors." Exylim felt her cheeks turn red as Axel and Demyx stared at her. She pulled her hood up. "Zexion will teach you to control your mind reading and thought speaking abilities. Axel will teach you how to control fire and Demyx will teach you how to control water. Zexion, Axel, Demyx, you are dismissed. Exylim, come with me."

"You will choose a weapon. You can create one with your mind." Xemnas said as they walked into a room. "Can I have two?" She asked Xemnas. He nodded. Exylim closed her eyes and imagined a sword attached to a long chain, a strong bow, indestructible, and a quiver filled with arrows. The weapons appeared in front of Exylim as she opened her eyes. "Interesting. You may go back to the living room. Your training will begin tomorrow." Xemnas said as the weapons disappeared. "Zexion will teach you how to summon your weapons." He said and waved Exylim away with his hand. She left and ran back to the living room.


	4. Chapter 4

After 2 weeks strait of training, Exylim was getting tired and mixing all of her lessons together. When Axel told her to light the tree above him on fire, she accidentally watered the tree and Axel, who looked like a wet cat and acted like one too. "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!!!!" Axel screamed as the shot a ball of fire at Exylim. She dodged it and many more as she raced into the castle. "Help!!! Axel is going to kill me!!" Exylim screamed as she raced into the living room, followed by a very wet Axel. Just before Axel threw a fireball, Demyx shouted at Axel. "Axel! Stop before you really hurt someone." He threw the fireball at Exylim and this time hit her. She gasped and clutched her arm. "Exylim!" Roxas cried as he ran over to her side. Weakly, Exylim said, "Too late." She held out her arm. The glove and the arm of the coat were gone, revealing Exylims' arm which was bloody. Her eyes were as white as they could get. Axel took a threatening step towards her.

Exylim turned pale and ran out of the room, running by Saïx and Xemnas. "Wait… What happened?" Saïx asked. "Axel burnt Exylims' arm." Demyx said. "She got me wet." Axel said angrily. "Well, how's this then?" Demyx retorted as his sitar appeared. He strung a few strings and blasted Axel with a jet of water. "Stop it. Axel, wait in my office. Saïx get Zexion and tell him to find Exylim and bring them to my office." Xemnas said. He grabbed Axels' arm and half dragged him to his office. Saïx left to find Zexion and Exylim which left Roxas and Demyx. "I can't believe Axel would do this to someone." Roxas said as he examined the spots of blood that stained the carpet. "She must be really mad at him now. This is going to be interesting." Demyx said as he and Roxas sat down on the couch.

"What happened?" Zexion asked Saïx as they raced down the hall to get Exylim. "Axel burnt her arm." Saïx said as they reached Exylims' room. They heard quiet sobbing coming from her room. "Exylim?" Zexion asked as he walked in. "Go away." She said. "Let me see your arm. I think I can help." Zexion said as he walked up to her bed. She held out her arm. "Ouch. This is going to take a while to heal." He commented as he examined her arm. "We need to go. Xemnas wants to see you 2 in his office." Saïx said as Zexion helped his sister up. "Let's go."

"Axel, you will not need to teach Exylim for 2 weeks or so. She needs time to rest." Xemnas said as the meeting ended. "Demyx and Zexion, you can continue training her in a week. I will be testing her abilities in a month." Zexion nodded. Axel looked mad still, which made Exylim coward in her chair on the other side of the room. She didn't trust Axel any more. "You all may go. Axel, stay here for a minute." Xemnas said as the other members left. "You know you not only need to apologize but you have to earn her trust back. She is scared of you." Axel looked down at the floor. "I know. I messed up and lost my temper." He said. "You may go." Axel got up and left the room.

"This will sting but it will make your arm better." Zexion warned Exylim before rubbing her arm with a strong smelling burn cream. Exylim whimpered quietly then asked, "How long will it take for my arm to heal?" Zexion put the lid on the cream and said, "Probably a week or 10 days. You're going to have a scar. It's kinda cool though. It looks like a tattoo. Kinda looks like flames." Zexion took out a roll of gauze (For those who don't know what gauze is it's a flexible bandage that looks kinda like the stuff used to make casts) and started to wrapped Exylim's arm up. Exylim grimaced a little. "I'm tired. Can I go to sleep?" She asked, yawning. "Go ahead. Just try not to sleep on your arm." Zexion said as he walked out of her room. "See you later." She said as he closed the door.

"Exylim you awake?" Exylim woke up. "We need to talk to you." She got up and opened the door. Roxas, Demyx, and Axel were about to walk in when Exylim looked at Axel. Her eyes turned white and she slammed the door shut. "Fine. We'll come in the easy way." Roxas said as he opened a portal. Exylim summoned her sword as the trio appeared through a portal. "Get. Out. Now." She said slowly. "Oh, I'm so afraid." Axel retorted. He took a step forward but jumped back as Exylim's sword sliced the air where he had been standing. "Axel, stop." Demyx said. "Exylim, Axel came here to see if you're okay." Roxas said as he and Demyx left Axel and Exylim alone.

"Um… I didn't know they were going to leave…" Axel said. "Why are you here?" Exylim asked tartly. "Like Roxas said, I just wanted to make sure you were okay." "Like you care." Axel looked upset. "That's not true. I do care. You have no idea how I feel. I-" Exylim interrupted, "You can't feel anything other than when you're physically hurt. I have to suffer and put burn cream that stings like hell on every day. I have to live with an ugly scar. I died to save my friend and I don't know if he's even alive." Exylim said, running out of breath. "I have to live with knowing I hurt one of my friends." Axel said, looking down, "I'm sorry." Exylims' eyes turned red. "Um…." Axel said as he looked at her. He noticed that she had fangs now, which were growing longer. Her hair started to stand up. "YOU CAUSED ME PAIN!" She shouted angrily. "You look like Saïx. Let me go get…him?" Axel stuttered. Exylim smiled evilly. "I know you're afraid. I can feel it!" She cried as she lunged at him. Her sword missed by an inch. "Wait! Stop." Axel said, backing up. He turned and opened the door.

"Xemnas! Saïx! Help!!!" Axel cried as he ran into the living room. All the members were there and they all looked up as Axel ran in, followed my Exylim. "She's going to kill me!" He cried as she swung her sword at him. He dodged it and Exylims' sword cut into the couch instead. "This seems familiar. Let's not let it end the same." Xemnas said. "Axel, you can't run forever." Exylim taunted. Saïx was behind her and tried to grab her but she jumped into the air. And remained in the air. "Hey. I though I was the only one who could do that." Xigbar commented. "Please help!!" Axel cried as Exylim aimed a fireball at him. He dodged it but Exylim appeared in front of him. She slashed her sword. No one move as Axel looked up and saw 2 locks of his red hair fall down. Someone gasped. "She's in for it now." Xaldin said, shaking his head. "My hair…" Axel said quietly.

Suddenly, he bursted into red flames. "MY HAIR!" He screamed. Exylim smiled evilly again as she bursted into purple flames. "Oh poor Axel. The world is going to end." Exylim said as she took a step towards him. "Demyx do something!" Roxas cried. "You could say please." Demyx said as he summoned his sitar. He played a few notes and suddenly, Axel and Exylim where socking wet. Exylim didn't notice other than the fact that she had landed on the ground once more.

Saïx grabbed Exylim and lifted her off the ground by her coat. Xemnas grabbed Axel and dragged him into his office. "Saïx, get Exylim back to normal. You will need to teach her how to control herself. What am I saying? Just snap her out of this." Xemnas disappeared. Everyone was now staring at Exylim. "She looks like Saïx does when he's berserk." Xigbar commented. Saïx glared at him. "Let's go." He said to Exylim as he pulled her to his room. "Let me go." She said angrily, still berserk. Saïx felt his own fangs grow out a little. "Stop. Now. You need to calm down or you might hurt someone." Suddenly, he felt pain in his arm that he was holding Exylim up by. Exylim had bit his arm and started to kick him in the ribs.

"Stop it." Saïx said angrily, slowly going more berserk. Final he slammed Exylim into the wall. She yelped and released his arm. Then she tried to bit his shoulder. Instead, Saïx bit hers. She cried out and whimpered softly like an injured puppy. Saïx picked her up by her coat again and walked swiftly to his room. He came to a door, unlocked it, and pushed Exylim into his room. She looked around. One wall was all just windows that over looked the castle grounds. Moonlight poured through the large windows. The rest of the room was a dark blue.

Saïx locked the door and walked into the moonlight. Exylim came over after trying to unlock the door. Saïx sat down and Exylim sat besides him. "You need to calm down. Think of something you find calming." Exylim tried but all she could feel was the pain in her arm and shoulder. She tried to speak, but she wasn't used to her fangs. Finally she managed to say, "Zexion…" Saïx got up, "I'll go find him if you say here." She nodded and Saïx left the room. _Idiot _Exylim thought as the door closed. _Like I'm going to stay here. _Exylim waited for two minutes, got up and summoned her sword, which she used to smash one of the windows.

Saïx found Zexion walking down the hall to Exylims room. After talking to Zexion, the 2 men hurried back to Saïx's room. _Crash_. The sound of breaking glass echoed through the castle. "Exylim!" Saix opened the door and ran into his room to see Exylim about to jump out of the broken window. "Don't you dare." He warned her but she smirked and jumped out. She landed softly on the grass and got up quickly. She saluted the 2 men who stood on the window ledge and ran around to the castle door and ran inside. "I'm going to kill your sister." Saïx growled at Zexion. "She's the exact opposite of you." Zexion sighed. "I know. She has too much energy. It's a good thing she's not friends with Axel. We'd be dead." "Speaking of Axel, Exylim's probably after him. We have to warn him." Saïx said as he opened a portal.

"Axel, come on. Your hair is fine." Roxas said to Axel who was looking at his hair in a mirror. "Yeah, I think it looks better now." Demyx said. "Would you like me to make it even better?" Axel jumped and spun around. "Or would you like to just leave it lopsided?" Exylim was smiling wickedly. "Exylim, don't even think about it." Xemnas, Saïx, and Zexion came running in. Saïx grabbed Exylim and Zexion held a bottle under her nose. Exylim screamed as the strong scent burnt her nose. Suddenly she stopped screaming. "Hot…" She complained. The smell over whelmed her and her berserkness disappeared. "Please stop…" Exylim said. "She's back to normal. Drink this." Zexion said, handing her a bottle. She drank it as Zexion gave Axel a bottle. "I don't need anything." Axel refused. "I order you as your superior to drink it." Xemnas said. Zexion handed Axel the bottle. He took it and drank it all.

"Did it work?" Saïx whispered to Xemnas. "Give it a minute." He replied. "Roxas, Demyx, please go ahead and get your dinner. Axel and Exylim will not be joining you tonight." The 2 blonds left the room with only one questioning glance at Axel. He shrugged and Roxas and Demyx left. A minute later, Exylim was moaning. "What did you do to her? What was in the bottles?" Axel asked. He grabbed is stomach as the drink began to work its' way into his system. Exylim screamed then stopped moving. Axel glared at Zexion, Saïx, and Xemnas as his vision went blurry.

"Now what?" Saïx asked. "We need to put then in one of dungeon cells, the one that temporarily weakens the abilities of our members. They," Zexion said as he glanced at the 2 unconscious members. "Will not be able to summon their weapons or use their fire and water power…s. We have to keep it on high or else Axel will be able to summon his chakrams. This will weaken Exylim greatly and she will probable faint often." Xemnas nodded, "We will ask Lexaeus to carry them there." "How long should we keep them there?" Saïx asked. "Long enough to make them forgive each other and break out." Zexion replied. "At the most, 3 days." Xemnas left the room to find Lexaeus.


	5. Chapter 5

_1 day later_

Exylim moaned and opened her eyes. She flipped over and came face to face with Axel. Exylim gasped and shot back. Everything was starting to come back to her. Her eyes turned red as she looked around. They were in the dungeon. Exylim tried to summon her sword but she felt weak, too weak to summon anything. She walked around the room and found no door and no holes in the bars. Her fangs grew a little out of frustration. Exylim walked back over to Axel. She needed to wake him up.

"Axel, get up." Exylim said as she poked Axel. He replied with a snore. "Uhg." She said as she leaned down and bit Axels' wrist. "Owwwwww." Axel cried as he jumped up. "Why'd you do that?" He asked Exylim. "You wouldn't wake up when I poked you." She said calmly. "You could've dumped water on me." He said. "I can't. My powers aren't working." Exylim gazed around. "What?" Axel tried to summon his chakrams. "What did you do? This isn't right." Exylim snarled, "I didn't do anything. You got us into this mess. Why'd you burn me?"

"Oh. Right. I hate cold water so when you dumped water on that tree, you got me wet and I lost my temper. The only thing I remember is your arm bleeding." Axel said. "I remember you cutting my hair and drinking what ever was the bottle. You screamed and fainted, them I fainted." Axel crossed his arms and said, "You went berserk and tried to kill me." Exylim glared at him. "I still want to kill you. I hate your guts." Exylim lunged at him. Suddenly, something electrocuted her. "Owww!" She cried. "What was that?" Axel looked at her neck and noticed a collar. "Ha! You have one of those collars that stop dogs from barking on."

"Actually, they're to stop you from killing each other." The 2 teens looked at the source of the voice. Zexion. "Zexy! Let me out of here!" Exylim cried as she ran to the barred wall that Zexion stood behind. "I can't." He said as he pushed a tray of food under the bars. "Eat this. We'll let you out once you forgive each other." Zexion said as he walked out of the dungeon. "Noooo! Come back! Let me outa here!" Exylim called out to her brother.

"Looks like we're gonna be here a while." Axel commented as he took a plate of food of the tray. Exylim took hers and ate in a corner with her back to Axel. An hour later, the 2 went to sleep. Exylim was cold but she refused to sleep next to Axel. He was warm but she hated him. "So…cold…" Exylim said as she shivered and her eyes turned grey. Suddenly she felt nauseous. She got up and tripped over Axel. "Hey… What's wrong?" He asked. Exylim didn't reply. Instead she walked over to the cell wall. Her body shock and then her stomach hurled up her dinner. "Ewww." Axel said as he got up and walked over to her. "Gee, that made me feel soo much better." Exylim groaned and threw up again. "All done?" Axel asked gently. Exylim nodded, too tired and cold to get mad at him and tear him apart. She let him lead her to where he was sleeping before and they lied down. "I'm going to kill myself for this tomorrow, aren't I?" Axel teased as Exylim got comfortable. "Yep!" She said as she shivered again. Axel wrapped his arm around her and brought her closer to his warm body. "Thanks…" Exylim said as she snuggled closer to him. Axel smiled and closed his eyes.

Axel woke up before Exylim did the next morning. He didn't move since she was still asleep. After what seemed like an hour, Axel started to get tired of waiting. _You can get up. I'm awake. _Axel withdrew his arm and Exylim flipped over to face him. "Why can't you just talk?" Axel asked Exylim. She just shrugged. _Don't feel like it. Thanks for keeping me warm. _Axel sighed. "You're welcome." He reached out and touched her arm, the one with the scar. "I can't believe I did this to you. I'm really sorry." Axel said as he examined the scar. _It's okay. I still hate you for it, though. Why don't you just think what you're going to say instead of saying it? _"It freaks me out."

Axel and Exylim sat up as Saïx came in with food. "Um… Saïx?" Axel asked. "What?" "How are we suppose to _go_?" Exylim and Saïx both mentally slapped themselves. "What the hell Axel? Um… just go in the corner I guess." Saïx replied. "Ewww." Exylim replied. "Fine. I'll go talk to Xemnas." Saïx said as he pushed the tray under the bars. "Oh yeah. Exylim threw up last night. Twice." Axel said as Saïx turned to go. "I'll get Zexion to give you some painkillers or something." Saïx left before they could ask anything else.

"Know what?" Exylim asked. _We feast!_ Axel thought to her. _I thought thought-speaking freaked you out. It does. Let's eat! _Axel picked up the tray and handed Exylim a plate of food. They sat down and ate in silence. Exylim finished first and walked in circles for 30 minutes. "Would you stop already? You're making me dizzy." Axel finally said. "I'm bored. What do you want to do?" She asked. "I don't know." Axel replied. "What do you like to do?" "Dance, sing, light things on fire, bug Xemnas, pester Xigbar, stay away from Saïx." Axel listed off. "I 'm bad at dancing and singing, we can't use our powers, we're stuck in this stupid cell, and Saïx can get away from us. I wonder if I can find Roxas and Demyx with my mind." Exylim said. "Try it." "If I die trying, I will haunt you in my next form." She teased Axel. The red head punched her playfully in her good arm. "Okay. I'll try to wait patiently."

_Roxas? Demyx? Can you hear this?_ Exylim tried to find the 2 blonds with her mind. _Exylim? I thought you were dead!! Demyx? _Exylim guessed. _Yep. Is Axel with you? Unfortunately, yes. Is he alive? No I killed him. _Exylim thought sarcastically. _Where's Roxas? Crying himself into a coma. He thought you guys were dead. You said you did too. I did. Go find Roxas and come into the dungeon. Xemnas is holding us in one of the cells. I'm-……. Exylim? Exylim? _Demyx called to her. "I better find Roxas. He's going to be happy and worried at the same time." Demyx sprinted to Roxas's room. "Roxas? Exylim and Axel are alive. Come out now!" Roxas's door flew open. "Where?" Roxas barged out. "In the dungeon. Exylim though spoke to me. She didn't finish her sentence. I think something happened to her." Demyx said as Roxas looked around. "Let's go!" Roxas cried as he sprinted down to the dungeon.

_During that time, in the cell_

"Exylim!" Axel cried as she fell back. He caught her before she hit the ground. "Exylim? Wake up!" Axel cried desperately. He picked Exylim up and cradled her in his arms.

"Zexion? Exylim threw up twice last night." Saïx said as he found Zexion and Xemnas. "She just fainted too." Zexion added. "Damn it. How weak is she?" Xemnas asked Zexion. "She could die. I knew I turned the power on too high. She might live but she'll probably lose control of her one of her abilities." "That's not good." Saïx commented. "We need to get Vexen and Lexaeus. Meet me in the dungeon right away. Saïx please find Vexen. I'll get Lexaeus." Xemnas said. Saïx nodded and sprinted off to find the Chilly Academic.

5 minutes after Exylim fainted, Roxas, Demyx, Saïx, Vexen, Lexaeus, Zexion, and Xemnas all met in the dungeon. "Zexion, turn the power off. Lexaeus, as soon as Zexion does so, get Exylim and carry her to Vexens' laboratory. Saïx, get Axel and take him to his room. Roxas, Demyx, what are you doing here?" Everyone got to work. "Exylim thought spoke to me but she was cut off. I got Roxas and we came here." Demyx said. "Return to your rooms. I will come and get you when Exylim is better." Xemnas ordered. _That is, if she lives. _

Lexaeus carried Exylim to Vexens' lab and set her on one of the beds Vexen had that served as a mini hospital. "Vexen, give her something to get her strength back." Zexion said as he felt his sisters' forehead. "She's really weak. I can feel death trying to take her. I'm going to see if I can get into her mind and wake her up. Don't disturb me." Zexion closed his eyes and found himself in his sisters' mind. Everything was black.

_Exylim? Are you here? _Zexion asked his sister._ I miss my friends and I'm going to die. Why?_ Exylim walked toward him. _We weakened your powers. I had to weaken Axels' too. His powers are stronger than yours so when I turned the power on high, it affected you and you fainted. You need to wake up. _Zexion said as he faced his sister. _I'm so cold…can't breathe…the collar…_ Exylim said as she started to fade. _Wait! Hold on for one more minute. I'm going to save you. You won't die. I promise._

Zexion jolted back into the real world. All of the 13 members were in the room. "Axel, get heat into her. Xaldin, try to pump some air into her. Saïx, break the collar off." Everyone shot up. "The collar's off." Saïx shouted. "I'm heating her up a little." Axel shouted as he grabbed her hand. "She's breathing some air in." Xaldin was near Exylim's head and watched as she began to breath. "Is she dead?" Roxas asked. "No. Marluxia, do you know of any flowers that can bring her energy up?" Zexion asked as he paced back and forth. "Yeah. I'll grow some." Marluxia said as a flower started growing from the floor. "Larxene, I need you to electrocute her." "I'm on it." Larxene said as she put her hand on Exylims chest. "One, two, three!" Zexion counted and Larxene electrocuted the girl. Nothing. "Once more." Zexion said. Again Larxene electrocuted Exylim. Nothing.

Everyone looked down. A tear ran down Zexions' face. Axel went over to Roxas and Demyx but didn't talk. They started to cry a little. Xaldin looked away from the girl and Vexen started to clean up. Xigbar closed his eyes and thought. Xemnas looked upset and Saïx walked over to the window to look out over the castle grounds. Larxene walked over to Luxord and Marluxia, who let the flower die. Lexaeus went over to the bed and started to pick Exylim's limp body up. "Wait…Why didn't she fade away?" Axel asked. "Because I'm not dead." Lexaeus dropped Exylim and everyone ran to the bed which Exylim lay on. She opened her eyes and smiled.

"Exylim!" Axel, Zexion, Demyx, and Roxas shouted at the same time. "You're alive! How?" Roxas asked. "I was breathing right? Why'd you have to electrocute me?" She said. "I'm tired. Can I have something to drink? Maybe this time not something that will weaken me." Exylim teased Zexion. "She's fine if she can tease me. Demyx, water please." Demyx handed Zexion a glass full of water. "This enough?" Zexion nodded. "Drink slowly." He commanded Exylim. "Marluxia? Can you grow that flower again?" Marluxia nodded as the flower shot out of the floor once again. "When will she be okay?" Xemnas asked. "Not for another week or so. We should let Exylim rest now." Zexion replied. Marluxia handed the Clocked Schemer the flower. "Make her smell this." Zexion nodded and Marluxia left the room along with everyone else. Only Axel remained.

"Axel?" Zexion questioned. "Can I stay? I won't keep her awake." "No." "Please?" Zexion knew where this was going. "Fine." Axel grabbed a chair and sat down by Exylim. "Axel…what are you still doing here? I thought Zexion made everyone leave." She asked Axel as he sat down. "Axel won't leave so I'm let him stay." Zexion said as he walked over. "Smell this then drink the rest of your water." He said as he held a flower under Exylims' nose. She breathed in deeply. Axel handed her the glass of water. Exylim drank in then lied back down. "Zexion…Axel…thank you." She said as she fell asleep. "You're welcome." Her brother whispered. "I'm going to leave and come back in an hour. Try not to keep her up." Zexion said to Axel. "Kay." Axel said as Zexion left.

Exylim woke up on and off for a day, each time Axel was here to keep her company. Roxas and Demyx sometimes came too, but not as often as Axel. Zexion final shooed Axel away when is eyes had black circles under them. "Go get some sleep." Axel reluctantly got up and walked to his room. He fell asleep as soon as he lied down on his bed. Zexion brought Exylim food and water and tended to her wounds. Exylim didn't flinch as he put the burn cream on her arm. "You okay?" He asked her. "Yeah. I'm fine." She said staring out into the distance. Zexion left, looking puzzled.

Exylim was bored and needed fresh air. She got up from her bed and opened on of the doors that led out onto a balcony. Exylim stood outside in the light drizzle. Something took control of her body and Exylim found herself opening a portal. She appeared in the World that Never Was and started to walk around. She found a small forest and sat down beneath a tree. Exylim fell asleep a few minutes later.

_Meanwhile back at the castle_

Axel, Roxas and Demyx walked down the stairs to Vexens' lab, Exylims' current room. "What should we do with Exylim this afternoon?" Roxas asked the two older boys. "Zexion said Exylim can go back to her room today. We should tell her. She'll be happy." Demyx said. Axel opened the door. "Exylim? Guess what! You can…" Axel trailed off as he saw the bed was empty. "Where is she?" Roxas asked. "The bathroom?" Demyx suggested. "Try outside." Axel said as he pointed to the open door. "Oh no." Roxas said. "We gotta find her before she gets a cold." Demyx said. "You sound like my mom did." Roxas teased. Axel had gone outside and opened a portal to the city. "Hurry up you two." He shouted as he walked into the portal. "I hate getting wet." He muttered to himself.

10 minutes later, the trio of boys found Exylim. "Exylim. Wake up." Roxas poked her. Exylim didn't move. "Exylim? Get up." He said. Suddenly, Exylim's hands shot out and grabbed Roxas's hand and pulled him down. He screamed as he fell into a puddle of mud, splashing Demyx. "Hey!" He cried. "Watch it." Exylim and Roxas looked at each other and grinned. They grabbed Demyx and pulled him down into the mud. Soon, mud was flying through the air. Axel dodged the mud but Exylim and Roxas tackled him. "Ahhhh!" He cried as they landed in a pile in the mud.

After about 5 more minutes, everyone was out of breath. "Let's go." Axel said, "I'm tired now." Roxas got up and picked leaves out of his hair. "Yeah, me too. Zexion, Xemnas, and Saïx are going to kill us." The 4 teens got up and ran back to the castle. "Let's meet back in the living room after we clean up." Demyx said. "Um…Axel and I shouldn't use our powers right now." Exylim commented. "We'll teleport you." Roxas said as he opened a portal. "Let's drop Exylim off in her room first." The 4 friends walk through the portal.

"So this is what your room looks like?" Axel said as he looked around. The walls were all a different color. One was a blue violet color, another was red, one was blue and the last one was golden. The carpet was green and the ceiling was a very dark blue. "What do the colors stand for?" Roxas asked. "Blue violet for me, red for Axel/fire, blue for Demyx/water, golden for Roxas/sunlight, green for the grass, and black for Zexion/the night sky," Exylim replied.

Exylim walked into the living room with Demyx to find Axel, Roxas, Saïx, and Xemnas waiting for them. Saïx held up one of the cloaks. It was dripping with mud. Demyx looked at it then as Xemnas. "Um….we had to run an errand?" Demyx said. Saïx smirked and said, "Busted is more like it." Xemnas shook his head. "You know that you are unauthorized to leave the castle grounds without my permission." He said as Axel, Roxas, Demyx, and Exylim looked down. "It wasn't their fault. I went to city and they came to--" Exylim said but Xemnas cut her off. "You still aren't allowed to leave, what ever the reason is. Kitchen duty for one week. You start tomorrow morning." Saïx threw the mud covered jacket to Axel, who caught it and looked at it like he hated it with all of his life. Xemnas left and Saïx stood there for a minute then walk out of the living room.

Roxas and Demyx groaned and Axel started to curse under his breath. "What's so bad about cooking?" Exylim asked. The 3 boys glared at her. "Ever watched Xaldin cook? It's scary. We're all amazed that he still has all of his fingers." Demyx replied. Roxas nodded. "He enjoys stabbing things, usually one of us." He said as he sat down on the couch. Axel just continued to curse. "Let's go into the kitchen." Roxas suggested. Demyx nodded and followed Roxas to the kitchen.


	6. Chapter 6

Xaldin was cleaning up in the kitchen when the 4 teens arrived. "Consider your selves luck. I managed to save some food for you. Be here in the morning by 9:00. Roxas, Exylim, you will help me cook since you won't burn or make anything watery. Demyx, you'll wash dishes and Axel, you'll dry dishes." Xaldin ordered as he left the room. Roxas groaned. "What's so bad with having to cook?" Exylim asked the blond. "Having to cook with Xaldin, who enjoys stabbing things, usually Demyx, Axel, Xigbar, and I." He replied. Axel was rummaging through a cabinet and Demyx was eating some food off of one of the plates Xaldin had left out for them. "Exylim, catch." Axel said as he threw a packet of Oreos at her. She caught it neatly with her left hand.

"You're a lefty?" Demyx asked through a mouthful of food. Exylim nodded, then looked unsurely at the Oreos. "Um… I have a problem with sugary things." Roxas looked confused. "In other words, I get super hyper." Exylim rolled her eyes at him. "Hey!" Roxas said defensively. "You don't have to be defensive." "I'm not being defensive!" "SHUT UP." Demyx cried as he covered his ears. Axel, on the other hand, asked Exylim calmly, "How hyper?" "Um…talking really fast, running around for 30 minutes strait, pretty much out of control." Exylim replied as her cheeks turned a pinkish shade. Axel smiled evilly. "Start eating." Roxas and Demyx looked surprised. "You too." Axel said to them. Demyx look unsure. "We're going to drive Xemnas, Saïx, and anyone else we can find crazy." Axel said as he bit into an Oreo.

_10 minutes later_

Exylim started to twitch. Axel and Demyx were talking fast to each other. "Guys? Is Exylim okay?" The slightly hyper Roxas asked. Suddenly, Exylim grabbed a Coke and drank it. The twitching increased. "One more and she's ready." Axel commented. Roxas drank another Coke as Axel finished the Oreos with Demyx. They all started twitching, even Roxas, who finally was becoming hyper. Exylim took a bite out of an Oreo and her eyes turned bright green. She dropped the cookie and said, "Imboredareyouboredcauseiamletsdosomethin'. Letsgotothelivingroom!" Exylim took off and was out the door in less than a second. Axel, Demyx, and Roxas took off after her.

"INNNN COMMMMMIIING!" Exylim shouted as raced into the living room. "What the-" Marluxia started to say but had to jump back in order for Exylim not to run into him. Vexen jumped out of Axels' way as he came running in. Demyx ran into Larxene as Roxas tripped and landed upside down on the couch. Exylim ran into the wall. That didn't stop her from diving onto the couch next to Roxas. "Whyyouupsidedown?" She asked him as he fell off. He landed on his back and looked up. Exylim had already sprung off the couch. "Oh God! They had too much sugar!" Larxene cried as Exylim and Axel ran in circles. Demyx got up and joined them. Roxas ran over and they ran around him. "LetsgofindSaïxandthenXigbarthenLuxord." Exylim shouted and the 4 hyper teens ran off.

They found Xigbar walking down a hallway. "Xiggy!" Demyx cried as he saw the older man. "Demyx? Are you okay?" Xigbar question him. Instead, the hyper teen ran circles around him. "Whatyoudoing?" Exylim asked. "Oh no. You had sugar. How much did you have?" Xigbar asked her as she tried to stop in front of him. Again she ran into the wall. "Only5Cokes 3packetsofOreos and2barsofchocolate." She replied, running out of breath. "Axel, what did you do to Exylim?" Xigbar asked the red head but Axel just ran down the hall shouting over his shoulder, "Let'sfindSaïxandXemnas!" Exylim was grinning strangely as she raced after him. Demyx and Roxas followed her, leaving Xigbar blinking. "Wait until Xemnas sees them. I'm not going to miss it." He muttered to himself as he followed the teens.

Saïx was just about to say goodnight to Xemnas when the 4 hyper teens ran in. "Mr.Mooooooonnnnnnn man!" Axel shouted as Saïx glared at him. "Mansex!" Demyx, who usually didn't call anyone names, shouted. Xemnas spun around. Exylim and Roxas tried to stop but Roxas ran into Saïx and Exylim ran into Xemnas, causing the 2 older men to fall backwards. "Owww. What's wrong with them?" Saïx asked as he shoved Roxas off of himself. Exylim jumped up before Xemnas could do the same. "Whatreyoudoin.Canwegointoyourroomthanks!" Exylim said as she ran to the door that led to Xemnas's room. She opened it and ran in. The 3 boys followed her. "What the-? Get out of there! I think they ate at least 5 pounds of sugar each. That's why they're hyper and crazy." Xemnas said as he stood up. Saïx growled, "I'll help you get them out of your room."

In Xemnas's room, Exylim was jumping on the bed with Axel, Roxas was standing on the table and Demyx was running in circles. Saïx came in and tried to grab Exylim. Instead, she jumped over him and landed behind him. Xemnas was pulling Roxas off the table when Demyx tripped and flew into him. Exylim was giggling as she ran out of the room.

_Meanwhile, in the kitchen_

Zexion walked into the kitchen at the same time Xaldin did. They both stared at the empty Oreo boxes, candy wrappers, and soda bottles. "Umm…Xaldin, who was in here last time you checked?" Zexion asked as the Whirlwind of Six Lances cursed under his breath. "Your sister, Axel, Demyx, and Roxas." He replied as he held up a half empty or half full bottle of Coke. At that moment, Exylim came running in. "COKE!" She shouted as she grabbed the bottle out of Xaldin's hand. "Hey!?" Xaldin looked at the teen. Zexion stared at her eyes and said, "Her eyes are bright green. That means she's unusually cheerful. Or that she's hyper." Zexion grabbed the bottle out of Exylim's hands. "Giveitbackineedmoresugar!" She cried as she grabbed for the bottle. Xaldin had summoned his lances and aimed one at Exylim's coat. She noticed and ran out of the kitchen and into Xemnas's room.

Saïx had managed to pull Axel off Xemnas's bed and had knocked him out. Xemnas had Roxas trapped in nothingness and had knocked Demyx out. Exylim came running in, followed by Xigbar, Xaldin, and Zexion. Xaldin tried to pin her to the wall, but she was too quick. Saïx tried to tackle her but she stopped just before he jumped. Xigbar was poking Demyx and Zexion slapped his forehead. Xemnas shouted at him, "Do something!" Zexion shook his head and started to count, "1,3,4,5" At five, Exylim stopped and collapsed. She was asleep. Zexion rolled his eyes and picked her up. "They're going to be tired tomorrow." He said to Xemnas who was franticly looking around. "Xaldin, bring Axel back to consciousness. Don't kill him though. Saïx, grab Roxas and take him to his room. Xigbar, take care of Demyx."

Xaldin grinned evilly as he walked over to Axel. Saïx was growling as he grabbed Roxas's arm and opened a portal to the boy's room. Xigbar pick Demyx up and carried him to his room. Zexion opened a portal to his sisters' room and walked in. He set Exylim down carefully on her bed. "Silly, you're going to be in trouble tomorrow." He said as he brushed her hair off of her face. She sighed in her sleep and flipped over. Zexion got up and left her room.

Authors note: lol, this is my fav chapter where i go hyper with my buds. Srry that its short but i'll submit my next chapter right away.


	7. Chapter 7

Exylim woke up the next morning with a major headache and every muscle in her body hurt. She tried to get up and managed to walk to the living room on her own. She staggered a few feet, then her legs gave out. Someone caught her before she hit the ground. "Careful. You should be asleep still." Saïx warned as he helped her onto the couch. "My head hurts," Exylim said as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. "I'll get you an Advil. Stay here." Saïx got up and disappeared into the kitchen. He retuned a minute later with an Advil and a glass of water. "Here." He said as he handed her the cup. "I'll find Zexion. He'll take care of you." Exylim nodded and swallowed the pill.

Axel walked in and collapsed next to Exylim. "Head…hurts…ugh…" He moaned as he rubbed his head. Demyx and Roxas came in a few minutes later. Roxas's legs gave out half way across the room. "Help, someone?" He pleaded. Exylim got up and walked over to Roxas. "Here," Exylim offered him her hand. He grabbed in and let Exylim pull him up. "So tired…" Demyx complained as he sat down next to Axel. Exylim came over with Roxas and sat down. She sat down next to Demyx and Roxas sat down next to Axel.

Zexion walked in a few minutes later and found then all asleep. Exylim was leaning on Demyx who was leaning slightly on Axel. Roxas was leaning on Axel and Axel had his head resting on top of Roxas's. Zexion smiled and pulled out a camera. He snapped a picture then waved the developing picture in the air. He set a bottle of Advil in Axel's lap and left them alone.

Exylim woke up when she heard someone come into the room. Who ever it was, they turned on the TV. Exylim heard the channels change then stop on the poker channel. _Luxord._ Exylim thought to herself. She had an idea. Exylim located Luxord's mind and entered it. She waited a few seconds before screaming as loud as she could with her mind. "Bloody HELL!" Luxord shouted as he jumped up. He covered his ears as he dropped his deck of cards. Exylim smirked and got up. "Ha ha." She said as she picked up his deck of cards. She looked for the 2 black aces and eights.

Luxord uncovered his ears. "Ugh. I have a bloody head ache now. Who knew you could scream that loud." He said as he came over to Exylim. "I didn't scream. Here." She replied and handed him the aces and eights. "Dead man's hand." Luxord looked at the cards and his face turned pale. Exylim grinned then grabbed the remote. Luxord dropped the cards, then pick the whole deck up off of the chair.

Axel woke up when he heard Luxord shouted. He opened his eyes and watched Luxord freak out. _Man, she's good, _he thought to himself. _I know. I'm awsome, _Exylim read his mind. Axel rolled his eyes at her. He looked at Roxas and then at Demyx. _Help? _He asked her. She came over and whispered something into Demyx's ear. His eyes opened wide. "What the hell?" He asked her. Exylim was cracking up. "I'm joking." She replied. "Watch this," Axel said as he stuck his finger in his mouth then into Roxas's ear.

Roxas opened his eyes. "Ewwww!" Demyx and Exylim said at the same time. Axel grinned as Roxas fell off the couch. "Axel, you stink!" Roxas shouted at the red head. "I love you too!" Axel replied before jumping off the couch. Roxas got up and chased his around the room. Exylim "accidentally" stuck out her foot when Axel ran by. He tripped and fell face flat. Roxas dove onto him. "Dog pile!" Demyx shouted. Exylim grinned at fell on top of Demyx. Zexion and Lexaeus walked in, looking at the pile of giggling teens. Lexaeus shook his head at sat down on the couch.

"You guys are crushing me," Axel wheezed. "Good!" Roxas replied. Exylim rolled off of Demyx and onto the floor. "Give me the freakin' remote Luxord." Lexaeus was trying to grab the remote. "Never!" Luxord cried. Lexaeus' tomahawk appeared. Luxord's eyes widened and he dropped the remote. Xigbar appeared out of nowhere and picked up the remote. He disappeared and reappeared on the ceiling. "Xigbar, get your scarred ass down here." Lexaeus shouted trying to hit Xigbar's head with his tomahawk. "You come up," the Freeshooter replied.

Exylim and Roxas ended up being cut by Xaldin when they helped him cook so they ran to set the table when he asked them to. Xaldin made chicken, cooked carrots, broccoli, and a bunch of other things. Axel tried to push his broccoli on to Exylim's plate so she would eat them. She noticed, grabbed a handful of broccoli and shoved it into Axel's mouth. He started chocking. Xemnas gave them unsure looks. Exylim grinned slyly at him and poured the entire bowl of broccoli onto Axel's plate. The red head pretended to cry.

After dinner, Exylim felt weird. She walked around the castle and came to Saïx's room. She tested the door, finding it unlocked and walked inside. Exylim walked into the moonlight and stood there for a while. "Hmm….You seem to like my room." Exylim jumped. Saïx was standing behind her. "Heh, yeah. You have the best view of the moon rising," Exylim replied. "Tonight's movie night," Saïx said. Exylim raised her eyebrow, "Who's choosing the movie?" "You if you get there in the next 10 seconds," Saïx replied, opening a portal for her. "Thanks," she said and ran through it.

"She's here!" Axel shouted as Exylim appeared. "What movie do you want to watch?" Xigbar asked. "What do we have?" she asked. Demyx pointed to the wall. It moved to the side, revealing a cabinet full of DVDs. Exylim walked over and pulled out a video. "Let's watch this," she said, pulling out Live Free or Die hard (unrated u). "Thank god! Not a girly movie," said Axel and the rest of the guys glared at Larxene. "What did you make them watch?" Exylim asked. "Legally Blonde 1 and 2," Larxene replied. "Nice," Exylim said and gave Larxene a high five. "Put the movie in already!" Xigbar shouted. Exylim stuck her tongue out at him and walked slowly up to the DVD player. She ended up running into it after Xigbar shot the ground behind her.

Exylim felt bad because Demyx was scared during most of the movie. Exylim pretended to be scared for him. They covered each others eyes and hide behind a pillow. Axel burnt the pillow and forced them to watch. Exylim watched intently and Demyx looked like he would break out in tears. When the movie was over, Axel got ice cream for everyone. Xigbar's was melted. He threw the bowl at Axel who laughed and jumped out of the way. The ice cream hit Xaldin. Everyone was silent. "Uhh…" Xigbar ran out of the room. Xaldin and his six lances followed. Xigbar's screams could be heard for the next minute then Xaldin walked back in. Xigbar didn't follow. "Did you kill the pirate?" Exylim asked. "No but maybe in a week or 2 he'll die of starvation," Xaldin replied. Curiosity got the best out of Axel and Exylim and they went to see what happened.

"A little help please?" Xigbar asked. Axel and Exylim looked up and laughed. Xigbar was pinned to the ceiling. "Naahhh, I think we'll leave you up there for a day or so," Axel said. "No!" Xigbar cried as they walked out laughing. "Come back or I'll shoot you!" he shouted after them. "You can't shoot us. You're stuck up there," Exylim shouted back over her shoulder. Xigbar cried out in anger.

Zexion looked up as Axel and Exylim came in laughing and then went back to his sudoku book. "Put a five here," Exylim said as she pointed at a box. "Don't help me!" he brother said. Exylim stayed quiet for a little while before saying, "Put a 3 here," and pointing to a box. "Go away!" Exylim frowned and got up. She took out a pen and put a 4 in one of the boxes. "Gah!" Zexion cried and threw his pen at Exylim. She threw hers' at him. They had a pen war for a minute or two but stopped when the pen hit Saïx and broke. Saïx's hair started to stand up as he wiped ink of his face. Exylim and Zexion looked at each other and ran for it.


	8. Chapter 8

Exylim collapsed on her bed. Zexion sat down next to her. "That was close," he said to her. "Yeah. You have to work on your aim," Exylim replied. "Hey!" her brother said and punched her in the arm. _Crunch_. Zexion and Exylim jumped as the door splintered inward. They hear footsteps leaving the door and down the hall. Exylim cautiously opened the door to find one of Saïx's claymores sticking out of the door. Zexion pushed Exylim forward so he could see. "Hehe," he snickered. Exylim glared at him. "I bet there's one in your door too." Zexion stopped laughing. A thought popped into Exylim's head. She grinned, pulled the claymore out of the door, and brought it into her room. Zexion followed. "What exactly do you plan to do to that?" he asked her. She smiled and pulled out a can of pink spray paint. "Oh god, I'm outta here," Zexion said as he portalled away.

Saïx's thoughts were interrupted by something crashing into his door. He opened it to find a hot pink claymore with pink and purple ribbons on it. "EXYLIM!!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. Xigbar listened from the ceiling. Exylim ran under him. "Dudette, what'd you do?" he asked. "You'll see soon enough," she shouted over her shoulder. Sure enough, Saïx came storming through holding a pink claymore. Xigbar snickered as Saïx glared at him.

Exylim ran down one of the many hallways that she hadn't traveled before and stopped when she saw 4 decorated doors lining the hall. At the far end, there was a door that resembled the ocean and next to it was one that had the TLTW clock tower and sitting on it was 5 figures. The doors closest to her were quite different. The one in front of her was black except two flaming chakrams that seemed to be dancing around the door creating some designs and the one to the left of it was a purplish color that looked kinda like the sky does in TLTW and it had a giant black as night cobra with some purple and red as blood streaks on its body, taking up most of the door.

Exylim watched the door and she could have sworn the snake was watching her every move. Suddenly she heard what sounded like running feet coming closer and before she knew what she was doing, she dove into the room with the cobra on the door and quickly shut the door behind her. When she turned around to face the room, her jaw dropped and her heart (if she had one ) picked up speed.

The walls and shelves were covered in a variety of weapons or books. The night stand besides the front of the bed had a book, i-pod stereo, and a lamp resting on it as well as a candle. Above the head of the bed, the shelves were covered in books and pictures. She moved away from the door and towards the door to get a better look at the pictures. Some of the pictures where of a man with a full mask, a blonde girl in a ballet outfit who looked to be about 18-20 years old. There was a picture surrounded by a bunch of dry roses. The picture was of a pretty old woman with long braided hair wearing a black shawl and carrying a cane. A couple of other photos were of young couple. The man looked to be about 20-25, was pretty handsome, and looked really happy standing besides a beautiful blonde woman who was holding a cute little baby. Next to it was a picture of the masked man and a man, in his 30's, who looked similar to the man in the other picture but he had black, curly, slightly poofy, hair with a streak of white hair. He also looked miserable but the photo that caught her eye was one of a very tall woman with long black hair that had several purple highlights streaming through it. She had lavender eyes that had a sparkle in them as she smiled. Exylim noticed that the woman/girl was dressed in a late 1800's blouse and skirt. But that wasn't what shocked her; it was that the girl was in the loving arms of her own brother, Zexion, who was also smiling slightly gayly.

Exylim moved away from the bed and photos, her mind spinning with questions about the girl and the other people in the pictures. She moved to the other side of the room where most of the weapons were. As she passed some of the cases, she noticed the knives were still dripping or caked with blood. "What kind of person lives here?' Exylim asked herself as she passed by the various blades and guns. She turned her head to face inn front and that's when she saw the most beautiful sword she had ever seen. The hilt was an ivory white with thin lavender strips winding through it. The blade was long (about the length of Sephiroth's sword but a little longer. Not much of a big difference.)and it was black as night with what appeared to be a crevice, which ran the length of the sword that was as red as blood. She was only a few inches away from it when the door opened. She spun around to see the tall girl from the photo standing silhouetted in the door way.

"What the hell are you doing in here?" the girl stormed right up in front of Exylim. "Who the hell are you? Who sent you?!" "I-i…a-a-" Exylim tried to explain but was too scared to answer correctly. She was cut off as the sword that she was just admiring was brought right up to her neck, the clod tip pressing slightly into her skin. "You're a spy aren't you?" "N-no…I-" "It doesn't matter who you work for because you'll be dead soon and they won't get the information that they wanted." The woman said as a cruel sadistic smile grew on her face. 'Oh shit, she's gonna kill me! Scream damnit! Fight! Do something!' Exylim screamed at herself. "Good bye, you filthy spy!" The woman brought the sword back and was about to slice Exylim's head off when Axel banged open the door.

"Will you please SHUT UP in here? I'm trying to read a god damn book!" he yelled but it dried out in the end as he caught sight of the scene. "Since when do you read?" Exylim asked. "What the hell is going on? Firyx, what do you think you're doing with that sword?" he asked the woman. "What the hell does it look like I'm doing? I'm going to kill this little snooping brat. Now if you'll excuse me," the girl named Firyx said, turning back to Exylim about to cut off her head again but was cut off again by a fireball hitting the back of her head. She spun around. "Why the hell did you do that Axel?" She roared at him just as Roxas and Demyx came to the door. They quickly took in the situation and as Axel and the girl Firyx argued, Roxas snuck in and grabbed Exylim's arm and dragged her out of the room where he and Demyx took her to the living room.

"Are you out of your fucking _mind_?" Roxas exclaimed as he and Demyx pulled Exylim away from the raising voices of Axel and the girl. "What were you thinking? Going into her room? She could have killed you!" Demyx asked. "I was running from Saïx and that was the first room I came to," Exylim tried to explain as they went down a flight of stairs. "Who the _hell_ is she anyways?"

"Her name is Firyx and she is the most dangerous person in this castle, maybe all of the worlds," Demyx explained. "What do you mean 'the most dangerous person in this castle'? I thought that Saïx in berserker or Xemnas are the most dangerous members." "They were 'til Firyx joined but now they don't even come close to her, especially if she is in _her_ berserker mode. Not even you and Saïx both in berserker can take her on in normal or berserker," Roxas said as they walked into the living room where Saïx was trying to get the pink out of his claymore and where Xemnas, Larxene, Luxord, Vexen, and Xigbar were playing strip poker. Xemnas was losing and Larxene was winning. She was only missing her socks where Xemnas was down to his socks and underwear. XP.

Roxas and Demyx led Exylim over to the couch and sat her down. "I don't get it. If she's so dangerous then why the _hell_ is she here?" Demyx and Roxas looked at each other. "That's a good question," Roxas said. "Ok, Xemnas, you know what comes off." They looked over to the poker game and saw Xemnas handing Larxene a pair of heart covered undies. They laughed as Xemnas blushed.

"What's so funny?" They looked to the door to see Axel come walking in, followed by Zexion with that Firyx girl on his arm. Exylim stood up when she caught sight of her. Her lavender eyes narrowed and before Exylim could even inhale, she found herself pinned to the wall with a razor in each of her sleeves and one at her neck, the handle in the hand of the Firyx girl. If she wasn't being threatened by them, Exylim would have said the blades were cool.

"Now I'm going to kill you," Firxy's voice was low and menacing. She brought the blade up and was about to bring it down and kill Exylim where Xemnas yelled stop. Apparently everyone had just figured out what happened. Firyx turned her head towards Xemnas, the blade an inch from Exylim's neck. _How many times am I going to have my life threatened? _Exylim asked herself. "What is it now Mansex?" Exylim looked up at the girl with wonder in her yellowish-whitish eyes. _Did she just call him 'Mansex'?_ She thought.

"You are not going to kill her," Xemnas said, standing up, causing everyone to blanch. "Here, put this on, will you?" Larxene said, throwing him his cloak. He blushed and put it on. "Anyway, she is the newest member and Zexion's younger sister." "What?!" "Sis, it's true. She's the newest member here now," Axel said walking forward. "WHAT?!" Exylim and Firyx exclaimed in unison. "You have a sister?!" they asked. Firyx walked over to Axel and Zexion and bonked their heads together. "When the _hell_ were you going to tell me you had a sister?!" she asked as they rubbed their heads. "And…when the fuck was anybody going to tell me that there's a newbie in the castle?" she asked the room, her eyes flaming with hatred. Exylim took the moment to try and escape so she started to tug on her arms, trying to free the, but they wouldn't budge. Xemnas saw this and turned to Firyx.

"Release her now." Firyx walked up to Exylim and pulled the razors out of the wall with ease. Exylim fell to her knees but quickly stood up and looked up at Firyx's face, which scared the crap out of her. "If I ever catch you near my stuff again, I _will_ kill you." She said menacingly so only she could hear. "Savvy?" Exylim only nodded. Firyx gave her one last death glare before storming through the kitchen door. An uneasy silence seemed to be so thick that one of them would need a chainsaw to cut through it.

"Meeting, NOW." Xemnas said, taking his cloths and walking through a portal. Everyone else besides Zexion, Demyx, Roxas, Axel, and Exylim left via portal as well. Exylim walked over to where they where standing and looked at her brother who was still looking to the kitchen door where muttering and cursing could be heard. "Well, we better get to the meeting room before Xemnas gets too pissy," Axel aid. The others nodded and headed toward the hallway door. "Hey Zex, you coming?" "I'll meet you there," Zexion said before going into the kitchen. "Come on Exylim, let's go," Demyx said, pulling her out of the room. "But what about Zexy?" "He'll be okay. Now come on, you've caused enough trouble today."

By the time that they had gotten to the meeting room, every other member was sitting in there own high backed chair. The members that weren't in the living room a few minutes ago were talking to each other with confused looks on their faces while the others were talking to each other horridly. A few minutes after they sat in their chairs, Zexion portalled in with a troubled look on his face.

"Ahem… most of you are probably wondering why I called a meeting. Well for those of you who don't know, our dearest 14th member Firyx has returned." The room erupted in murmured conversation. Xemnas raised his hand for silence and everyone returned their attention to him. "Now if any of you can tell me when she arrived…" he looked around at everyone, noticing that Exylim seemed a little uneasy. "Exylim? Do you have any information?" "Oh… um, I think it was about a half hour ago when she first threatened me." "First threatened you? You mean she almost killed you _before_ the living room?" "Yes…" "Well everyone, it seems as though she is still very paranoid."

"Does that mean that we will have to keep an eye on here like we had to _before_ she left?" Vexen asked. "I'm afraid so," Xemnas said, shaking his head. "Wait! She just got here and she walked into her room to see Exylim in there. Now how would you feel if you saw a complete stranger in your room?" Zexion exclaimed. _Why the hell is he defending her?_ Exylim thought. "Listen Zexion-"Xemnas was interrupted by the door slamming open. Everyone looked over and saw none other that Firyx walk in, carrying a bottle of something that Exylim couldn't tell what of.

"Evening everyone. Been a while, hasn't it?... Xemnas are you planning on having me followed around like a criminal again?" she asked, stopping to stand in the middle of the circle that the chairs made. "No Firyx, of course not." "You know you can't lie to me. Now are you or are you not?" "Yes Firyx, I am." Firyx threw the bottle to the ground where it smashed and the contents pooled around her feet. "You son of a BITCH! I will not be followed around like a mongrel! My actions, my words, and anything else will not be noted and analyzed! If I find anyone following me like that I will personally castrate them!" She stormed. "Now you see that kind of attitude is exactly why you have to be followed. You could have killed one of our members for crying out loud!"

"I would have killed her because she was snooping around my room like a filthy spy! If it wasn't for Roxas, Dem, and Axel she would have no head to tell anybody what she saw." "Apparently, Firyx, you are still just as paranoid now as when you left a year ago to fight with the alliance a year ago. Now you will go and relax but first you will clean up that alcohol and broken glass."

Exylim looked up when she heard a year. She had been trying to calm her racing heart beat that the bottle made when it hit the floor. Xemnas portalled out as a signal that the meeting was over and everyone else followed his suit and portalled as well. Exylim watched as Firyx fell to her knees and pounded the floor with one fist. She wouldn't tell from her but her body looked as though it was being raked with tears.

Exylim stared in wonder as her brother walked over and kneeled besides Firyx. She watched as he took the sobbing girl in his arms and rocked back and forth saying what Exylim guessed as comforting words. _Brother?_ Exylim called out in thought-speak to her brother. _Later. But-I said later!_ He glared at her over Firyx's shoulder. Exylim took this as a sign to get the hell out. But when she went to get off the chair, her feet got tangled with each other and she fell smack on her face. She looked up and saw that her little stunt caused Firyx to look over and notice her.


	9. Chapter 9

"You!" Firyx got up, ignoring Zexion's protests and attempts to stop her. "You little filled A-hole! Are you happy now? Now that I'm going to be followed like a maniac on the lose? Well?!" Firyx was walking towards her still ignoring Zexion's attempts at stopping her. "I'm going to be followed because you had to snoop in a place you weren't supposed to. Get off Zexion! I don't care if she's your sister, she shouldn't have been snooping in my room!" she turned on Zexion.

"I'll talk to her." "Talking won't help. I know her type. She's just like the goddamn ballet rats at the opera house. Always snooping, never stopping, even when they are told not to. The only way to make them stop is to teach them a lesson." She turned back to Exylim. Zexion moved in front of Firyx. "No! Firyx, I promise, she'll get the message. Now you should go and rest. Don't worry. Dem will clean the drink. Come on." He put his arm around her middle and started to lead her out of the room. "Exylim, get the HELL out now!" he ordered over his shoulder as they walked out the door. Exylim just stood there for a minute then she left and walk down the hall.

"What the heck just happened? This whole evening has been hectic. So Axel has a younger sister who is an insane psychopath and Zexion cares about her?..My head hurts!" She said to her self. She turned the corner into another hallway and saw Zexion walking toward her and he looked pissed off. "Come with me now," he ordered as he swept past, grabbing one of her arms and pulling along.\ "Wha-brother, what's wrong? Why are you acting like this? Where are we going?" "Shut up!" he ordered before walking into a room that Exylim had never gone in before. "Brother, what the-" "SHUT UP!" he yelled, turning to her. "Ok, now do you see what you've done?" he asked, watching her intently.

"Yeah, I got an insane psychopath to be followed like she should be," Exylim replied proudly yet confused. "Ok…1: She is not an insane psychopath. 2: You have no idea what she's been through. I can't believe I'm related to someone who judges someone before she gets to know them." "What about her? She tried to kill me twice as soon as she saw me!" "You were snooping in her room and she thought that you were a spy. Frankly, sis, if I were to find someone in my room I'd probably do the same thing." "How am I supposed to know what she's been through? She's so damn protective, on edge, and as Xemnas said, paranoid." "Then I guess I'll have to tell you why she's all those things. Come\ on, we'll need some food and drinks, it's a long story." He unlocked the door and portalled out with Exylim. They came out in the dining room. "Sit. I'll get the stuff."

Zexion walked into the kitchen and wasn'tn surprised to see Firyx with a cigarette in her mouth and a glass and bottle of wine. She was deep in thought by the way she stared into the maroon depths of the wine. Zexion went around and collected some Oreos, milk, and a bottle of wine and a glass for himself. As he moved back out with the cookies and milk he glanced over to Firyx and was dismayed to see that she hadn't moved an inch cept to remove the cigarette and take a sip of wine since he had come in. With a sigh, he left the room and saw Exylim sitting at the end of the table with her feet propped up on the table. He set the things down and shoved her feet of the table before sitting down at the end of the table.

"Ok, where to start?" "How 'bout the beginning?" Exylim suggested as she took an Oreo. "Kay. Let's see… From what I know she was born human but was turned into a Nobody when she was still a baby and she grew up with Erik, Meg, and Mme Giry." "Wait, what do you mean 'she grew up as a Nobody?'" "Just what I said, now please, no more interruptions. About 6 years ago, Saïx was sent to go and get a Nobody and apparently kidnapped Firyx. Now when you joined, it was easy and everyone pretty much liked you. That wasn't the same for Firyx. Picture, if you can, being with family and friends one moment, then all of a sudden, you're somewhere else with strangers all around you. Her life was basically turned upside down. When Firyx woke up, Saïx had knocked her out, she almost killed Demyx. "Axel went slightly insane and they ended up in a big battle in one of the rooms. You want to see the room?" Zexion asked.

Exylim nodded and they walked through a portal into a room that had charred walls and several holes in the walls and floor. Exylims jaw dropped at the sight. "That girl did this?" she asked. "She and Axel did. The fight lasted for almost an hour. She kicked his . Axel didn't wake up for a few days and she didn't wake up for a week. Now everyone had seen the fight because I taped it and they grew afraid of her. The only people who took care of her while she was unconscious was mainly Marluxia & Larxene but I also helped out. When she woke up we showed her around and we only got to our library." Zexion said walking out of the room. Exylim took one last look at the room and followed him. "That is where Axel insulted Erik and she ran into the stables."

"Stables?" "Yup. Everyone has some pets. I'll show you," he said opening a door. Exylim walked in. There were stalls on either side of her. She looked up and saw Firyx. Exylim quickly dove into one of the stalls. "What the crap Exylim?" Zexion asked. "She's here." "Get out of there and come with me," he ordered her. She reluctantly obeyed and kept right behind him as he walked up to Firyx. "Hey Firyx." "Oh… Hey Zexy," Firyx said turning around to face them. Exylim almost gave a yelp when she saw that there was a big rattle snake in her hands. "What's up? I thought you were resting." Zexion said. "I did for a bit but then I remembered that Rose here didn't look too good last time that I pulled her out into battle," she replied, gesturing to the snake. "So I came down here to check on her." "How does she look?" "Not good, defiantly not good. Can you watch her… What the hell is she doing here?!" Firyx yelled spotting Exylim who had tried to get a better look at the snake. "Easy Firyx, I was just showing her the stables." "Fine. Anyway, can you watch Rose while I go make some medicine for her?" "Sure. How old is she anyway?" "Very old so be careful and do not let her near her," Firyx said, handing Zex the snake very carefully. "Okay, I'll wait right here." Firyx nodded and with a final glare to Exylim, portalled out.

"So this is her pet?" Exylim asked peering at the snake in Zexion's hand. "Well, one of them."\ "Them?" "Look in there," he said, pointing to the stall that they where standing in front of. Exylim moved close and looked in. Her jaw dropped again. "Don't lean too far in," Zexion warned with slight amusement in his eyes. In the stall was a crap load of snakes. "What kind are they?" she asked. "Well, there's Rattle snakes, Black Mombas, King Cobras, Spitting Cobras, and basically any other poisonous snake in the world except…" Zexion reached his hand in and a snake coiled around his arm. "This guy. He's mine and he's a Ball Python." "What do you mean yours?" "She gave him to me. She also owns him," he said, gesturing to the biggest horse Exylim had ever set eyes on. The horse was black with lavender eyes, like Firyx, and the slightly spiky mane and tail had some lime green highlights and the hair around the hoofs was very spiky and had black, violet, and lime green highlights. "Damn. What kind of horse is that?"

"He's a mix between a Friesian and a Shire." They looked behind them and saw Firyx walking towards them carrying a bowl and a funnel. "How the hell did that happen?" She didn't get an answer, just a dirty look. "Zex, could you please open her mouth." Zexion pinched either side of the snakes' mouth and Firyx poured the bowls contents into the mouth via funnel. After soothing the snake and rubbing under the mouth, Firyx put the snake on her shoulder. "Looks like she won't be in the battlefield anymore. Zex, when I'm called back can you take care of her?" she looked to Zexion. "You know I will." "Thanks," Firyx said then leaned down and kissed him full on the lips. Zexion closed his eyes and kissed her back. "They must have forgotten that I'm right here," Exylim muttered to herself, letting the strange horse sniff her hand. They parted and with a final smile, Firyx walked out.

"Ok, what the crap brother." "What?" "You just frenched her! WHAT DO YOU MEAN WHAT?!" "Calm down…" "I'm not going to calm down! You just frenched an insane psycho-" "She is not and insane psycho." "Who has tried to kill me several times…" she went on, ignoring her brothers' interruptions, "She is not an insane psycho!" Zexion repeated. "She also hates my guts and probably will still try to kill me. She needs to be put in a straight jacket and sent to an insane asylu-" Before she could finish her sentence, Zexion punched the left side of her face and knocked the air out of her by kneeing her in the stomach. He grabbed her collar and forced her to look into his face with tears in her white eyes and growing hatred in his blue eyes. "She is NOT an insane psycho! You got that! You don't know her! And your too narrow minded to see anything else besides your own conclusion! You'll never learn!" He basically threw her head down. When she looked up, he was gone. Words ringed through the air. "I'm ashamed to be your brother."


	10. Chapter 10

With silvery tears streaming from her pale blue eyes, Exylim ran from the stables and didn't stop until she was in her room

With silvery tears streaming from her pale blue eyes, Exylim ran from the stables and didn't stop until she was in her room. She jumped onto her bed and cried into her pillows. A while and a bucket of tears later, she heard a knock on her door.

"Who is it?" she asked.

"Roxas," he said, opening the door a bit, "may I come in?"

"Sure," Exylim replied, turning her head so her cheek rested against the pillow, her bangs covering the bruise that had formed on her left cheek.

"Are you okay?" Roxas asked, coming in and sitting down next to Exylim. Exylim sighed, feeling tears coming again. "Does it look like I'm okay?" she asked, swallowing the lump in her throat.

"Well, no. What happened?" Roxas asked with a concerned look on his face.

She sighed again, the replied, "Nothing. Zexion just said some stuff to me."

"Oh. What'd he say?"

"Stuff."

"Seriously."

"He said he was ashamed of me."

Silence. Exylim glanced up at Roxas. His eyes had widened slightly. Exylim sighed and sat up, her bangs swinging ever so slightly off of her cheek. Roxas's already wide eyes widened. He stood up and moved in front of Exylim. He gently brushed her hair out of her face with his gloved thumb.

"What happened?" he asked.

"I tripped," Exylim lied, her eyes going a pinkish color.

"What where you doing?"

"Running from Saïx."

"That makes sense but is it true?" Roxas asked, sitting back down next to Exylim. She shook her head no, fresh tears running down her face. Hesitantly, Roxas hugged Exylim. They sat like that for a few minutes until Exylim's sobs turned into sniffles.

She looked at Roxas and said in a whisper, "Thank you, Roxas."

He smiled and let go of her. "It's okay," he replied, glancing at the black alarm clock on her nightstand. "I should go," he said, standing up.

"Kay. Good night Roxas."

Roxas smiled at her again before opening a portal and leaving.

Exylim watched Roxas leave then flopped back onto her bed. She closed her eyes, waiting for sleep to come. Instead, vivid images of that night flash in her mind. _Why didn't anyone tell me? Maybe then they wouldn't hate me. Why did he leave?_ "This is you fault!" Exylim cried opening her eyes, leaping out of her bed, and blasting the ceiling with a jet of fire. The dark blue paint (which, if you recall, represents her brother) burnt quickly. "Why didn't you tell me? You shouldn't have left our family in the first place? Maybe then I wouldn't be dead!" Exylim shouted, tears raining from her blood-red eyes. She again blasted the ceiling before turning to the red wall (Axel's wall) which like the ceiling, she blasted. Angrily, she jumped onto her bed and punched one of her red pillows until she fell asleep.

Exylim woke up the next morning still angry. She growled, flipped onto her side, and went back to sleep. She woke up again at noon and got up to take a shower then sat back down on her bed. A few seconds later she grabbed her iPod and lied down on her bed. She put the earphones in and selected a song. It came out blasting loud. Exylim sighed and pulled a pillow over her head.

A while later, she heard a knock on her door. "What do you want?" she snapped.

"Geez, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed."

Demyx. "Sorry Dem."

"It's fine. Are you alright? You weren't at breakfast."

"I'm fine."

"You sure? You haven't left your room today."

"I'm fine. Go away," Exylim snapped."

"Okay, okay. I'm going."

Exylim sighed, turned her iPod back on, and pulled the pillow over her head again.

Exylim ate in silence at the end of the table, away from Zexion and Firyx. A few of the members kept glancing at her. "What?" she growled at them. They looked away and continued eating. Exylim got up and carried her plate to the kitchen then left. She heard Roxas and Demyx call her name but she ignored them and portalled to her room.

Exylim stayed in her room until noon the next day. Demyx and Roxas had knocked on her door a few times but gave up after she ignored them. She could tell they were disappointed but she didn't care. After a while, she got up and took a shower. When she was drying her hair, she noticed that her eyes were turning from red to blue to black and then back to red and so on. "Stupid eyes," she muttered before walking out of the bathroom.

Exylim remained in her room until 11pm then decided to go eat dinner. Before she left, she reached into the draw of her nightstand and pulled out a pair of red sunglasses with dark lenses. Flames were engraved carefully into the frame of the glasses and in tiny print was her number, XV. Exylim sighed and put them on, pulled up her hood, then left her room.

Xigbar was walking on the ceiling when Exylim passed beneath him. He disappeared then reappeared next to her. "Well, well, well. The princess has come down from her tower," he said with a smirk.

"What do you want?" she muttered.

"Oh nothing," he replied and then put his elbow on her head, using her as his arm rest then asked, "So what's with the hood?"

"None of your business."

Xigbar frowned and stopped walking. Suddenly he appeared behind Exylim and ripped her hood down. She kept walking. Xigbar jogged to catch up with her and put his elbow back on her shoulder. "And what's with the sunglasses?"

"What's with the eye patch?" came her reply.

"Touché. But really, what is it for?"

Exylim turned to face him and said sourly, "Wouldn't you like to know," then walked away. Xigbar again caught up with her. "Why are you following me?" she asked with no emotion.

"I'm not unless you're going to the living room. I'm just walking with you."

"Fine," Exylim said before walking into the kitchen. Xigbar blinked then realized they passed the living room.

Exylim got her food then walked into the dinning room only to see Firyx. Exylim immediately turned around and walked back into the kitchen. She ate standing up then portalled back to her room when she was finished.

2 days Later

"Exylim, come on! Open up!" "We know you're in there!" Demyx and Roxas shouted. Exylim groaned.

"Ok, ok, you got me! Now what do you want?"

"Get your bathing suit on."

"Huh? Why?"

"We'll explain later."

"Ok, whatever," she sighed then grabbed her bathing suit and changed into it then put her coat on over it. She opened the door and was immediately grabbed by the arms and dragged through a portal. "AH! What are you guys doing?"

"We're going to the beach!" Demyx shouted with a grin.

"Xemnas is actually letting you go?"

"Well, no. That's what we need you for," Roxas said with a sheepish grin.

"What? Why me?" Exylim cried.

"Cuz Mansex will let us go if he knows that we got you out of your room," Demyx replied. Exylim sighed. They were standing in front of the Superior's office.

"XEMNAS! We're going to the beach!" Exylim shouted then whispered to Roxas, "Open a portal!" They heard a thud and Xemnas shouting. Exylim squeaked and shoved Demyx and Roxas thru the portal.

"WHAT?!" Xemnas cried, falling out of his chair and lading on the ground with a thud.

"Calm down and let them go. They at least got number XV out of her room," Saïx said to Xemnas as he helped him up.

Xemnas sighed and said, "You're right. She needs to get fresh air," then went back to working.

Exylim, Roxas and Demyx tumbled out of the portal laughing. "That was close," Roxas said between laughs.

"Yeah, but we made it!" Demyx said ever so happily. Exylim looked around. They were in a clump of palm trees and the smell of salt was in the air. Demyx and Roxas pulled their coats off and Exylim followed their suit. Demyx was wearing blue swim trunks with little sitars scattered on then while Roxas was wearing a gray bathing suit with black stripes. Exylim was wearing a red halter top with Hawaiian flowers on it and black skirt. Roxas stared at her before blushing and looking away.

"Come on! Let's go swim off of the dock!" Demyx shouted before racing towards the dock. Exylim and Roxas grinned at each other before racing after Demyx. They had to jump over sand castles, towels, and the people who were tanning. Exylim caught up with Demyx and tried to trip him but he jumped over her leg. They reached the end of the dock and skidded to a stop. Roxas came a few seconds later panting.

"Geez Roxas, you should lay of the sea-salt ice cream once in a while," Exylim said while laughing. He glared at her and tried to push her off the dock. She squeaked and jumped away, then looked at Demyx who was staring out over the water. She glanced at Roxas then back at Demyx.

"On the count of 3," Roxas whispered. "One…Two…THREE!" he shouted then shoved Demyx. He yelped and fell of the dock with a splash. Roxas laughed and Exylim pushed him off. He teetered on the edge before grabbing Exylims hand and pulling her down with him.

Exylim bursted to the surface and yelled, "Roxas!" He grinned then was pushed under by a large wave. Exylim dove in after him and pushed him down until she was pinning him by the shoulders against the sand. He squirmed and tried to pull away but Exylim wouldn't let him. He was running out of air and tried again, this time succeeding. Exylim gave him a boast and he… flew out of the water and landed on the dock with a hard thud. Exylim's eyes widened and Demyx started laughing.

"Oww. That didn't help, you know," Roxas said, sitting up slowly.

Exylim grinned and replied, "Sorry." Demyx kept laughing. Exylim dunked him then swam over to the dock, grabbed hold of Roxas's feet, and hung off of them with her lower half still in the water. Demyx popped up next to her and tickled hr sides. She squeaked, let go of Roxas's feet, and fell back into the water. She and Demyx splashed around for a while then Roxas joined in.

"I'll race you to the shore!" Exylim shouted. "Ready, set, GO!" They took off swimming as fast as they could until they could stand, then tried running through the water. Roxas tripped and did a face plant. Exylim stopped to help him up and they both caught up to Demyx. The three friends stumbled out of the water and to their towels where they collapsed.

"I'm hungry," Roxas said after a while.

"Go climb a palm tree," Exylim said. "You're always hungry! It's like you have 5 stomachs."

"Well maybe I do," Roxas retorted.

Demyx sighed. "Let's go to the beach shack." They got up and walked down the beach, occasionally stopping so Exylim could pick up a seashell.

Exylim watched as the sky turned brilliant shades of pink and orange. The sun became a red ball of flames then began to sink under the horizon. Exylim sighed softly.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Roxas asked, rolling over to face her. Demyx propped himself up on one elbow with a look of concern.

"Nothing," Exylim said, facing away from them, "I'm just sad that we have to leave soon. This is the first time I've happy for days."

"Oh…" Roxas said softly.

"We should go before it gets late," Exylim said, standing up and looking down at the two blondes.

Demyx and Roxas glanced at each other before getting up silently.

2 Days Later

Exylim stormed down the hall and into the kitchen to eat. Afterwards, she walked into the living room. Everyone glanced up at her. Xigbar was leaning against the wall when he asked, "You okay, Squirt?" Suddenly, Exylim's hands were around his neck.

"Don't ask me that frickin' question. That goes for the rest of you," she growled, throwing Xigbar across the room. He skidded to a stop on his back just an inch away from the couch. Exylim stormed out and portalled to her room.

Zexion looked up, shocked at his sisters' reaction to a simple question. He looked down at Xigbar who sat up, rubbing his neck.

"Damn, she's gotten stronger," Xigbar said. Zexion stared down at him. "What?" Xigbar asked.

"Nothing," Zexion said before going back to reading his book. He had this "feeling" that something was gnawing at his stomach. He set his book down and asked Lexaeus, "How long has she been like that?"

Lexaeus looked surprise. "You mean you didn't notice until now? She's been like this ever since the day after Firyx came back."

"Oh," Zexion said softly. He was pissed off at his sister but he knew now that he shouldn't have hit her. Realization hit him and he stood up and walked out of the room.

Exylim heard a knock at her door. "Who is it?" she growled. When they didn't reply, she got up and yanked the door open. Zexion stared back at her. He opened his mouth to say something but Exylim slammed the door shut. Zexion stuck his foot in the way before it closed.

"Exylim, listen," he said. She opened the door, glared at him, and slammed the door shut as hard as she could. Zexion yelped and hopped around on one foot. Exylim stepped in front of him and jabbed him in the chest. He fell backwards and landing with a hard thud. Exylim slammed the door shut and put her iPod on play again.

Axel walked down the hall and glanced at Zexion. "Sibling problems?" he asked with amusement dancing in his eyes.

"Yeah," Zexion sighed as Axel pulled him up.

"You're not alone, my friend," Axel said as he walked away. Zexion sighed again and portalled to his room.

Exylim walked out into Marluxia's garden the next night to get fresh air and get away from everyone. Marluxia was nowhere in sight. Exylim sighed and walked between rows of red roses. The rose seemed to be wilted so Exylim ran her hand over them, running water down the leaves. Suddenly, the roses sprang out and thorned vines wrapped around her arms and ankles, leaving her trapped.

"Well, who do we have here," a voice said behind her. She craned her neck to see who it was. Marluxia appeared in front of her, smirking.

"Let me go," Exylim growled at him.

"Nah, I don't feel like it," he replied, still smirking. He walked up right in front of her.

"Let me go or-"

"You'll what? Water me? I'm so afraid."

Exylim's eyes turned red but were masked by her sunglasses. She closed her eyes, smirked and combusted into flames. The whole garden was in flames the next second. Marluxia fell to his knees as Exylim walked into the flames. She threw her clock to the floor to reveal her sleeveless red shirt with a hood, black cargo pants that were purple from her mid-thigh up. She wore three belts, two crossing in front. One was chain and the other was black. The third belt was made completely of metal and held up her pants. Two buckles separated the black from the purple, these ones whit. Her gloves were only to her wrist and two chain brackets hung from them.

Exylim pulled her hood up and opened a portal. She stepped through it without a single glance backwards.


	11. Chapter 11

A cool breeze hit Exylim as she step out of the portal and into a dark alley. She walked to the end of it and peeked around the corner. She could see the station tower from where she was standing. Nobody was out so she slipped into the street and made her way to a house. It looked so familiar but Exylim couldn't remember whose house it was. She climbed up the fire escape and pulled herself through a window. It was dark but moonlight illuminated most of the room. Exylim lied down on the bed and stared at the ceiling. She grabbed one of the pictures and looked at it. It was a picture of her, well, her somebody, with two boys. Her somebody was pulling the blondes' mouth into a smile and the other boy was doing a peace sign.

Exylim sighed and set the picture down. Suddenly, she heard a voice and footsteps coming up the stairs. Exylim sprang off of the bed and out the window. She jumped to the next level of the fire escape and stepped into the shadows. A woman leaned out of the window and looked around. She looked down at Exylim who shut her eyes. Exylim heard the women close the window and released her breath which she had been holding in. She climbed down to the ground and once again slipped into the shadows.

--

Smoke drifted into Xemnas's office and he coughed, trying to ignore it. Finally he got up and looked out the window. The whole garden was in flames. Xemnas opened a portal and walked out into the garden. Roxas, Demyx, and Axel walked out of another one, curious to see why it was smoky. Demyx immediately started putting out the flames.

"Did you do this, Axel?" Roxas asked.

"No. Firyx didn't either. She was in her room," Axel replied.

"Marluxia, what happened here?" Xemnas asked the pink-haired man who was on his knees.

"Exylim," he said almost in a whisper. "She came through here and I stopped her to talk with her. She-"

"What did you do to her?" Roxas shouted at him.

"She burnt my garden and left," Marluxia replied.

"What?! Where did she go?" Demyx asked.

"I don't know but I don't care," Marluxia shouted. Demyx cringed and doused the rest of the flames.

"VIII, take XIII with you and look for her. Bring her to me when you find her," Xemnas ordered and then opened a portal and left.

"Let's go Roxas, the sooner we find her, the more sleep we can get. She probably hasn't gone too far," Axel said.

"Fine, let's check Twilight Town first. That's where she lived before, right?" Roxas asked. Axel nodded and opened a portal.

--

Exylim strolled into the sandlot and immediately ran into someone.

"Hey, watch it," he said angrily, shoving her back.

"You watch it," she growled at him. He wore a black beanie, a white cape like thing over a blue sleeveless vest, brown pants, and black boots. Exylim could recall him and his posse from her last life.

"What did you say to me? I think she needs to be disciplined," he said to the other two.

"Fight," the girl said.

"Seifer's gunna win, ya know?" the other boy said.

The boy, Seifer, grabbed a struggle weapon, the club-like one.

Exylim smirked and said, "Don't mess with me."

"And what if I do?"

"I'm warning you, leave me alone."

"It's too late. Back down or fight me," Seifer said.

"Alright. Don't say I didn't warn you," Exylim said. She stood with her arms crossed and waited him to move. He charged at her and at the last possible second she summoned her sword and blocked his attack. She threw him to the ground and charged at him. He swung his sword up at her but her sword cut through the club. His eyes widened as the top of his club fell to the ground. Exylim swung again and again until the he was only holding the hilt of the sword. Exylim pressed the blade against his neck and said, "You'll need a better weapon than that stick." She drew back and stepped away.

"Uh, Seifer's not feeling too good," the other boy said quickly, stepping between her and Seifer.

"Still using the lame excuse, I see," Exylim said.

"Lies," the girl said.

"What, you still can't say more than a word, Fuu?" Exylim growled.

Fuu and Rai looked at her, shocked.

"How do you know her name?" Seifer asked.

Exylim grabbed the front of his shirt and lifted him off the ground. She leaned over and whispered into his ear, "I know everything about you and your 'posse'." She dropped him and walked away.

"Wait, who are you?" he called after her.

"You know who I am," she replied. Suddenly, Roxas and Axel walked into the sandlot. Exylim backed up and then turned and opened up a portal.

"There she is!" she heard one of them cry before she disappeared through the portal.

Exylim raced out of the portal and opened the nearest door she could find and looked back to see if anyone was following her. She ran into someone, hard, and they both fell, Exylim on top of the person.

--

"Let's go check on Yuffie and Aerith," Leon said, "They're probably back at the house."

"Sure," Cloud said. They got up and walked over to the door. Cloud reached to open it but it slammed open before he could, slamming into his face and squishing him behind the door. Leon looked back to see what happened to Cloud and something ran into him, knocking him over and then falling onto him. They landed in an awkward position, the person flat on top of him with their knee in between him legs and their head on his chest. They laid there for a few seconds, catching their breath.

"Uh," Leon said, looking down at the person. The person atop him was a girl in her teens. "Can you get off? You're knee is in a bad spot."

"Oh, sorry," she said, getting off of him and stood up. He stood up and dusted himself off. He looked around for Cloud but couldn't see him.

"I had someone with me before…" Leon said.

"I'm right here," came a muffled reply. Leon closed the door and the girl peeked around him. Cloud fell flat on his face at their feet.

"Sorry, did I do that?" she girl asked.

"Yes," both of the men replied.

"Sorry."

Leon pulled Cloud off of the floor then shook himself off. "Why did you come barging in here?" Leon asked the girl.

"Someone was following me. I needed to loose them," she replied.

"Who was following you?" Cloud asked, rubbing his nose.

"I don't know but they were making me nervous."

"You managed to hurt both of us, you know. And who are you?" Leon asked.

"Heh, yeah, sorry. My name's Exylim," she said.

--

"I'm Leon," the brunette that she had ran into said.

"Cloud," the blonde said.

Leon asked, "I've never seen you before. You new here?"

"Yeah, I guess," Exylim said.

"Where do you live?"

"I…" Exylim paused, thinking of a lie to tell them. She didn't want to tell them that she was with the organization. "I ran away from home two years ago."

"Why?" Leon asked, surprised.

"My parents were…abusing me. I left when it got too bad," Exylim lied. "I've been traveling the worlds since then. I never stayed on one world for more than a week or so. No one wanted me."

Leon and Cloud stayed silent for once. Exylim looked away, not liking the looks of pity for her lie.

"Cloud, can I talk to you outside?" Leon asked.

Cloud nodded and said to Exylim, "Stay here and don't touch anything."

"I'll try not to but I can't make any promises," she said. The two men walked outside and Exylim immediately began looking around. It was a cozy castle like room, a little cramped but homey. There was a large computer that was against the wall and to side of it was a chalkboard with some blue prints of something on it. A table and a couple chairs sat on a platform in the middle of the room. Bookshelves and cabinets were scattered through out the room. To one side of the room was a bed and against another was a small fireplace. The whole room was littered with books but one book was on a white cabinet and it was glowing a greenish color.

Exylim walked over to it and traced the cover. A boy was walking and holding the hand of a teddy bear like thing with a tiger thing hopping next to them. The boy looked familiar somehow. Suddenly, the door banged open, making Exylim jump. An older man with blonde hair stormed in. Cloud and Leon followed behind. The man stopped when he saw Exylim.

"Who the hell is she?" he shouted at Leon and Cloud who coward slightly.

"Can we talk to you outside?" Leon asked.

"Hell no!" the blonde shouted.

Cloud grabbed Exylim's arm and pulled her outside. "Stay here," he commanded then slammed the door shut. Exylim stood facing the door and stuck her tongue out at it before going and leaning against the wall. She began sliding down until she was sitting. She looked up at the stars until she heard two voices, one loud and the other quiet, coming toward her. Exylim looked in their direction and saw two girls, one in pink the other in black, coming towards her.

"Hey, who are you?" asked the girl wearing a black and white bandana, black vest over a blue and white shirt, short tan shorts with black pockets, and high lace up boots.

Suddenly, someone shouted inside followed by more shouting.

"What's going on in there?" asked the girl wearing a pink and white shirt and a lighter pink and white skirt with brown boots.

"I don't know. I'm not allowed to go in, apparently. Go ask Cloud or Leon," Exylim replied. The two girls went inside. Exylim sighed and stood up. She began banging her head on the door.

--

"I don't care if she has no home! There's no way that she's gunna be living with us!" Cid yelled.

"Calm down! She was abused and living on her own for 2 years! She needs a family!" Cloud argued, his voice rising too.

"No! We're not adopting her!"

"I never said that! She just needs a place to stay!"

"No!"

"Aerith and I agree with Leon and Cloud, Cid." Yuffie said.

"Not you too!" Cid shouted.

"It's 4 to 1. You're out ruled, Cid. She's staying with us," Leon said.

It stayed silent and they could finally hear the _thump, thump_.

"What the heck is that?" Cid asked.

Cloud opened the door and Exylim nearly fell forward into him.

"Gah! I have a frickin headache now," she muttered. Everyone stared at her. She stared back nervously then stepped inside. Cloud closed the door and walked over to Leon. An awkward silence hung over the room and Exylim shifted her weight to her other foot.

Finally, Leon said, "Well, we decided that you can stay with us in our house if you choose to."

"It took you that long to decide?" Exylim asked.

"Thanks to Cid, yeah, it did," Cloud replied.

The older blonde whacked the back of Cloud's head and sat down at the computer.

"I'm Yuffie! The grumpy one is Cid," the short black haired girl said cheerfully.

"My names Aerith," said the girl in pink.

Suddenly, a wizard appeared in a puff of blue smoke. "And I'm Merlin. This is my house, I might add," he said.

"Um, I'm Exylim," she said. Leon and Cloud walked over to the chairs on the platform and sat down. Yuffie bounded over and jumped on to Leon. He pushed her off of him and she ran off with his sword with out him noticing. Exylim followed Yuffie out the door and caught up to her. "What do you plan to do to that?" she asked the ninja.

"What? Leon's gunblade? Nothing. Just see how long it takes him to realize it's gone," she replied.

"Aw, that's no fun," Exylim said then smirked. She pulled out a can of spray-paint that she had grabbed from her old room. Yuffie laughed as Exylim took the blade and began spraying it hot pink.

--

Leon yawned and reached for his gunblade to polish it. It wasn't there. Leon frowned and tried to grab it again. He looked and then looked at Cloud with a look of panic.

"Yuffie took it. Exylim ran after her. And you're completely oblivious," Cloud said. Leon jumped up and raced out the door. Cloud rolled his eyes and put his feet up on the table.

Leon raced through the town and looked everywhere for his beloved gunblade. "Hey Leon, looking for this?" someone called down to him from the top of the bailey. He looked up and saw Yuffie and Exylim. Exylim was dangling the gunblade from her finger. Leon's jaw dropped when he saw the pink.

"I'm gunna kill you!" he shouted. Exylim threw the gunblade at him and she and Yuffie took off toward Merlin's house. Leon chased after, still yelling at them. They raced inside and slammed the door shut. Leon tried to open it but Exylim and Yuffie leaned against it. Leon pushed harder and the two girls slid back a little.

"On the count of three, let go," Yuffie whispered. Exylim nodded.

"One…Two…THREE!" Yuffie shouted. They jumped back as Leon flew through the door way and fell face flat on the floor. Yuffie and Exylim jumped into the extra chair and Exylim threw the empty bottle of spray-paint at Cloud. He caught it and threw it back. The can went back and forth through the air until Leon got up.

"Heh," Exylim said, grinning sheepishly as she threw the can back to Cloud. He threw it back and it hit her in the head. "Ow!" she cried and glared at Cloud. She grabbed the can and threw it at Leon. It hit him in the chest and sprayed a little bit of paint onto his jacket.

Leon looked up at them with rage in his eyes. Exylim squeaked and jumped under the table as Yuffie jumped behind Cloud. Leon dove for Exylim and grabbed her leg. He started to pull her out but she clung to the leg of the table.

"Noo!! I'm too young to die!" she shouted.

"I'll save you!" Yuffie shouted, jumping onto Leon's back. He let go of Exylim and tried to get Yuffie off. Exylim jumped onto his back and all three of them fell forward. She and Yuffie pinned Leon down by sitting on his back. He tried to get up but failed.

"Alright, I'm not gunna kill you. Just get off of me," he said.

"Nope!" Yuffie said.

"You're crushing my lungs," he wheezed.

"Good!" Exylim replied.

"Ugh! Get off of me!" he shouted. Exylim and Yuffie got up and sat back down in the chair. He jumped up and immediately started to brush himself off and try to act all cool and suave as usual.

--

Cloud raised an eyebrow at them but remained silent. Exylim turned away from him, got up, and leaned against the wall.

"Hey Exylim," Leon called to her. She looked up at him. "Come with me." She frowned then got up and followed him towards one of the houses. He pulled out a key and unlocked the door. He held it open for her and she walked in. Leon fumbled for something and switched on the lights. Exylim blinked and looked around. They were in a living room. Leon walked down the hall, motioning for her to follow. "This is where everyone's rooms are. This is Cids room," he said, pointing to the first door, "Aeriths room, then Yuffies room," he said pointing to the next two doors, "My room and then Clouds room," he pointed to the two doors on the other side of the hallway. "Hey wait, where are you go-no not in there!" he shouted as Exylim raced into his room. She closed the door and locked it. "Not funny! Open the door!"

"No way!" she replied, grinning evilly. She looked around the room, pulled out a few of his drawers, tossed the pillows across the room, opened the windows, and then walked into his bathroom. She grabbed the hair shampoo and conditioner and put pink dye in both of them and put both of them back.

"Open this door now!" Leon shouted again. Exylim snuck over to the door and unlocked it. "That's it! I'm breaking this door down on three. One," he threatened. Exylim got ready. "Two… Three!" he shouted. Exylim opened the door and Leon flew through. He did a face-plant and Exylim jumped over him and out the door. "You're dead!" he shouted, running after her. She giggled and raced down the hall and into a different room. She was in the kitchen. Leon charged in after her and chased her around the table. She stopped at one end, him at the other. She faked one way, then the other and then she ran out into the living room. Leon caught her and slung her over his shoulder. He spun around a few times then dropped her on the couch, then started tickling her. She giggled and squirmed then shouted, "Ah! Stop!"

"Nu-uh," he replied. She finally got out of his grip and sat down next to him. He gave her a noogie and then stood up again. "Come on. I'll show you to your room." She got up and followed him, fixing her hair as she walked. "Here," Leon said, opening the door across from Clouds room. Exylim walked in and looked around. The walls and ceiling were painted a sky blue. The pillows, sheets, and blankets on the bed matched the paint. White curtains flickered in the breeze and moonlight poured through the windows.

"It's beautiful!" Exylim finally said.

"I knew you'd like it," he said, leaning against the doorframe.

Suddenly, Exylim hugged him. "Thank you so much! I was starting to get sick of traveling all the time," she said.

Leon smiled then said, "Believe it or not, it was Cloud who told Cid and argued most of the time."

"Really? Remind me to thank him," she said.

"Let's go into the living room. The others will be back soon," Leon said, heading back toward the living room. Exylim followed behind him and they plopped down on the couch. A few seconds later, the others walked in. Cid stormed down the hall and they heard him slam the door to his room closed. Aerith sat down in the chair and Yuffie sat next to Leon. Cloud sat next to Exylim at the end of the couch. Yuffie grabbed the remote and began channel surfing.

After about 2 minutes of the channel changing, Leon finally shouted, "Pick a channel or I will!"

Yuffie stuck her tongue out at him and kept going. Leon tried to grab the remote from Yuffie who ran around the couch. Leon chased after her.

"Do they do this all the time?" Exylim asked Cloud.

"Unfortunately, yes," Cloud replied, his eyes half closed. Exylim sighed. Finally, Leon got the remote and flipped to a movie channel. By then, everyone was tired and one by one began to head to their rooms. Exylim stayed even after Leon turned off the TV and left. Cloud stayed behind too. They sat in silence until Leon started shouting at Exylim from in his room. She grinned sheepishly at Cloud who rolled his eyes. She then got up and walked over to the window. She looked out at the moon and stared at it for a few minutes. Cloud walked up behind her.

"Let's go to bed," he said, placing his hand on her shoulder.

"Kay," she said. They walked down the hall and stopped in front of Exylim's room.

"Goodnight," Cloud said.

Exylim hugged him. "Goodnight. And thanks for everything," she said, then pulled away and walked into her new room.

"You're welcome," Cloud whispered then walked into his room.

Exylim smiled and shut the door.


	12. Chapter 12

Authors note: wow. this is my first authors note. Lol. sorry for the wait... ANywho, in this chapter, their is a little bit of OCxCloud but not really. it just seems like it but nothing happens! Cloud is like a big bro to Exylim. So yeah... Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own KH or the storyline or ay of the characters. I only own Exylim (not the name, feel free to use it) and her weapon design.

--

The smell of pancakes drifted into Exylim's room, waking her up

The smell of pancakes drifted into Exylim's room, waking her up. She sat up and looked around, not knowing where she was then remembered what had happened. She got up and walked into the kitchen. Cid and Aerith were the only ones awake. Aerith smiled at her while Cid ignored her. Exylim smiled back at Aerith and sat down next to her. They talked for a little until Cid put a huge stack of pancakes down. He grabbed a pot and a wooden spoon and walked into the hallway.

"Breakfast is ready," he shouted, banging on the pot until Leon, Cloud, and Yuffie stumbled out of their rooms. Exylim raised an eyebrow at Aerith who only laughed.

Exylim got up and walked over to Yuffie.

"So you're an early bird?" Yuffie asked.

"Nope," Exylim shook her head, "I just got up before Cid woke you up."

Yuffie sat across from Exylim and next to Leon. Cloud sat down next to Exylim and Cid sat at the head of the table after placing a pitcher of milk down. Cloud and Leon took about 20 pancakes each and began to see who could eat the most. Exylim rolled her eyes and grabbed 3 pancakes. She poured maple syrup onto hers and began eating them. Cloud finished first and tried to grab some from the stack but Cid pulled it away.

"Here," Exylim said, plopping the remaining 2 of her pancakes on his plate.

"You sure?" he asked.

"Yeah. I'm not hungry," she said, taking a sip of milk from her cup.

Cloud devoured her pancakes and Leon gave up, pushing away his plate with one pancake left.

Exylim rolled her eyes and took everyone's plates to the sink. She washed all of them and put them on the drain board. Cid was gone when she finished and Cloud, Leon, and Yuffie had moved to the living room.

"You don't have to do this," Aerith said as Exylim wiped the table clean.

"I know. I just want Cid to accept me so I'm gunna be helpful," she replied, washed her hands and then joined Cloud, Leon, and Yuffie. They sat watching TV until noon or so. They then rummaged through the kitchen for food and grabbed what they could before Cid came back. They took it out to the training grounds in the Great Maw and sat in the shade by the cliffs. They ate and talked about random things.

"Exylim, let's fight!" Yuffie shouted all of a sudden.

"Ok," Exylim replied and then walked with Yuffie into the center of the meadow.

"Prepare to meet your fate!" Exylim said, summoning her sword.

"Whoa, how'd you do that?" asked Yuffie.

"I don't know, it kinda just appears when I need it," Exylim lied.

Yuffie grabbed her shuriken, jumped in the air and threw it at Exylim. She blocked it with her sword and flung it back. Yuffie cart wheeled over to it and caught it. Exylim charged her and side swiped at her. Yuffie blocked the attack and spun with the shuriken in her hand. Exylim caught one of the points between the two blades and yanked the shuriken out of Yuffies' hands. She caught it, kicked Yuffie in the stomach, who fell to the ground, and pinned Yuffie down with the shuriken. Exylim press her sword against her neck and said, "I win."

Yuffie pouted, "No fair!"

"Heartless aren't fair," Exylim replied, helping Yuffie up.

"Nobodies aren't either," Yuffie said before bounding over to Leon and dragging him down to train.

"Some can be," Exylim muttered as Yuffie walked away. She sighed and walked over to Cloud. He sat in the shade, watching Leon and Yuffie spar.

"You beat Yuffie. Not surprising," Cloud muttered the last part as she sat down.

"What do you mean?" Exylim asked.

"Everyone has beaten Yuffie. She loses concentration too often," he replied, watching as Leon jumped behind Yuffie and tripped her. Yuffie jumped up and chased him around. Leon laughed and raced over to Cloud and Exylim. He collapsed next to Cloud and Yuffie collapsed next to him and punched him in the arm. They sat for a while until Yuffie sighed and fell onto her back. Everyone followed her suit and lay down. They watched the clouds drift over head.

A purple butterfly flew over them and flew in circles around them. Exylim held her hand up and the butterfly landed on her finger. She brought it down to her face and watched it flutter its wings before it took off and landed on Clouds nose. He shook his head and jerked away from it.

"Calm down. It's not gunna kill you," Exylim said as Cloud shooed it away. It landed on Leons jacket then flew over and landed on Yuffies forehead. She stared cross-eyed at it. The butterfly flew back to Exylim and landed on her finger again. She took Clouds hand and placed it on his finger. He stared at his hand then rested it on his stomach. The butterfly stayed with them for a few minutes before flying away into the sky. Exylim watched it until it disappeared and went back to watching the clouds.

Leon and Yuffie left them after a while to go talk to someone. Exylim and Cloud stayed put and continued watching the clouds. Exylims closed her eyes after a while and fell asleep.

--

Cloud stared up at the sky thinking. His thoughts were interrupted by someone moving up against him. He looked down and realized Exylim had cuddled up against him in her sleep. She was using his arm as a pillow and looked so peaceful. Cloud sighed and put his free arm behind his head. He dozed off after a while.

--

_Exylim ran franticly through the halls, trying to find a way out. Someone was chasing after her and was gaining. Suddenly, Firyx appeared in front of Exylim and lifted her by the throat. Exylim tried to pry her hands off but Firyx was too strong. Suddenly Exylim was falling. She hit the floor and looked up. Zexion was yelling at her and he raised his hand to hit her. Exylim closed her eyes and waited to be hit._

Exylim jolted awake with tears running down her face. She sat up and looked around. The sun had moved and it was almost disappearing over the horizon. Cloud sat up too and looked at her.

"Are you ok?" he asked.

Exylim turned away and wiped her eyes dry. "Yeah, I…I'm fine. Just a nightmare, that's all," she replied.

Cloud still looked concerned but he didn't ask anything else. He stood up and looked towards the sun. "We should head back," he said. Exylim nodded and stood up. They walked back in silence.

--

That night

Exylim opened her door and stepped into the hallway quietly. She made her way outside and walked to the Crystal Fissure. She sat down, leaned against one of the crystals, and looked up at the stars. Someone sat down next to her, startling her.

"Shh, it's just me," Cloud said and Exylim relaxed.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up. I tried to be quiet," she whispered.

"It's ok. I was awake anyway," he replied. They stayed quiet and stared at the sky. Exylim rested her head on Cloud's arm and yawned. Cloud looked down at her then looked away, a smile tugging at his mouth. Exylim shivered and pulled her legs up to her chest and yawned. Cloud stood up suddenly and picked her up. She gasped a little and clutched his shirt.

"Wha? Cloud, what are you doing?" she asked sleepily. He didn't reply and began walking. "Cloud,-"

"Shush," he said to her. She pouted but rested her head against his chest. She fell asleep as Cloud carried her back to the house. He walked into her room and set her down on the bed. He pulled up the covers and left her room as quietly as he could.

--

Next day

Exylim sat against on the railing in the Postern, watching Cloud and Leon spar. Yuffie was talking to her and Aerith who was smiling and nodding. Exylim stared into space and let her mind drift.

"So what do you think?"

Exylim jumped and looked at Yuffie. "Huh?" she asked.

"We where just saying who we think is gunna win?" Aerith replied.

"She says Cloud but I think Leon will," said Yuffie, "Who do you think is gunna win?"

Exylim looked towards the fight and replied, "By the looks of it…Cloud," she finished as Leons gunblade went flying.

"Aw, Leon, why'd you lose?" Yuffie cried.

"Shuddup," he replied.

"I almost bet on it too," she muttered as Leon sat down next to her. Cloud remained where he was and called, "Who's next?"

No one said anything. Exylim looked around and stood up. "Me," she said smirking. Both Leon and Yuffie had looks of horror on their faces.

"But you're gunna lose like Leon," Yuffie said.

"Hey!" Leon protested.

Exylim ignored them and strolled down to where Cloud was standing.

"You sure about this?" he asked her.

She smirked again and replied, "I don't care what happens. I just want to fight." She summoned her sword. Cloud charged her immediately. She jumped back onto the railing and sprang up into the air. Cloud followed her and their swords clashed. He threw her back and she landing on the path, skidding to a stop, dust flying up. She only had a few seconds to bring her sword up as Cloud appeared on her left side. Exylim blocked his sword and he began forcing her to move into the Restoration site. Exylim tripped over a pipe and fell onto her butt. She rolled out of the way and Cloud's sword hit the pipe with a metallic _clunck_. She got up and jumped back as Cloud repeatedly swung at her. She backed into a pile of junk and climbed up it. Cloud jumped up and they fenced (sorta) for a few seconds before the pile collapsed. They both jumped off as dust flew up into the air, hiding Cloud from Exylims view again. He burst through the dust and knocked her down. Her sword flew out of her hand and before she could yank it back, Cloud stepped on the chain. He put his foot down on her stomach, pressing down a little and held his sword at her neck. He grinned victoriously down at her. She glared playfully back at him and stuck her tongue out at him. He moved his sword and pressed the tip against her tongue.

"I'm going to cut your tongue out the next time you do that," he threatened playfully, then withdrew his sword. He helped her up and grabbed her sword. Exylim dusted herself off and grinned. She yanked the sword out of his hands by the chain and tried to swing it up to his neck but he was too quick. He had his sword up to block it. Exylim pouted and dismissed her sword.

"Hmph," he smirked at her and she stuck her tongue out at him. "That's it!" he growled and chased her. She squeaked and ran back to the postern. Cloud caught up to her and tackled her. They rolled a few feet then came to a stop. Cloud was on top of her, pinning her hands down on either side of her head and straddling her hips. They heard someone clear their throat and looked up. Leon, Aerith, and Yuffie stared down at them. Cloud jumped off of her quickly, his cheeks a light pink. Exylim's cheeks also turning red and she sat up. Leon had on of his eyebrows raised.

"What?" she asked him. He didn't reply only glanced at Cloud then back at her. She stood up and dusted herself off. Cloud muttered something and hurried away.

"Cloud…" she called after him but trailed of. She glared at Leon and went after Cloud. She lost him in the bailey, not knowing which way he went. She walked through to the castle gates and down through the crystal fissure. She found Cloud at the dark depths, sitting on the cliff, dangling his legs. She sat down next to him and looked over the edge into the abyss. She leaned back and stretched out her arm behind her, accidentally put her hand down on his. They both jerked their hands away and blushed.

--

Leon watched as Exylim hurried after Cloud. "They like each other," he stated.

"He does seem to like her," Aerith said thoughtfully.

"They're always together. But Cloud liking someone? That's weird! He either hates you or ignores you when you first met him," said Yuffie.

"I think he just pities her for what she's went through," Leon said before walking away. Yuffie and Aerith glanced at each other before following him.

(Author: I swear to god they don't like each other!)

--

_I think she's hiding something. There's probably more to her story than what she's told us_, Cloud thought to himself. He watched her draw designs in the dirt. _She's always so sad when I'm with her. Maybe I remind her of someone…_ Cloud stared up at the clouds as they drifted by.

--

Author: I swear! You'll see who she'll end up with and what happens between her, Zexion, and Firyx. Oh yeah, Sesshy's Demoness Firyx own's Firyx (who would have thought). Feel free to rate! or reply. or anything. just don't hurt me! (hides)


	13. Chapter 13

_Authors note: Warning: a little more fluff. I'm not much of a fluffy person but me cat is! (holds up fluffy orange cat) Oh, and I own nothin! Cept Exylim! She's mine but feel free to use the name anytime!_

_--_

_The Next Evening_

Exylim and Cloud sat on the couch next to each other in silence. Exylim sat cross legged, her eyes began drooping and she began leaning onto Cloud. Cloud looked down at her when she was leaning most of her weight on him. He picked her up and moved so they were lying down. Cloud wrapped his arm around her waist and closed his eyes.

--

Aerith walked into the living room and stopped when she saw Cloud and Exylim. She awed at their cuteness and smiled. Exylim rolled over in her sleep and cuddled up against him. He breathed out softly and Aerith ran to find Yuffie and Leon. She brought them to the doorway and pointed towards them. Yuffie awed and Leon even smiled a little. He ran to his room and grabbed his camera. He snapped a few pictures and grinned. Aerith ran and got Cid. She pulled him to the doorway. He looked at them and Aerith swore she saw something soften in his eyes. He walked away with out a word. The three of them stared after him then went into the kitchen.

--

Exylim woke up facing Cloud's chest. She slowly looked up at his face. He looks so calm. She gazed at him for a little longer before falling back asleep.

--

Cloud opened his eyes slowly and blinked. Exylim was pressing against him slightly. He sighed, nuzzled her hair softly and then rested his head on hers. She woke up after a while and looked up at him sleepily. He smiled down at her and she smiled back. He pushed himself up so he was sitting. Exylim sat up and rubbed her eyes.

"What time is it?" she asked, yawning.

"About 11pm," he replied. Exylim yawned again. "Let's go to bed," Cloud said.

"Aw, but I'm comfy," she complained. Cloud sighed and picked her up.

"Ah! I wish you would stop doing that!" she said, clinging onto him. He carried her into her room and set her down on the bed.

"Goodnight," he said, ruffling her hair before walking out of the room.

--

Exylim, Leon, and Cloud chased after Yuffie the next day, trying to get Leon's camera and pictures back from the "Great Ninja". She was snapping random pictures of things and a ribbon of pictures trailed behind her. Exylim and Cloud gave up the chase and began picking up the pictures. They looked at the pictures as they picked them up. Some of them were pictures of the castle and of the rest of Hallow Bastion. Others were of the Restoration Committee. Cloud picked up a picture and his cheeks turned pinkish. He smiled a little and Exylim looked at it. It was a picture of them sleeping on the couch. Cloud tucked the picture into his pocket and continued on. Exylim grabbed another shot of them sleeping and kept it for herself. They followed the ribbon of pictures around the bend into the marketplace. Exylim stopped and gasped. She jumped behind Cloud.

"What the hell? What are you doing?" he asked.

"Hiding. See those two blondes and the red head?" she replied. Cloud looked into the marketplace.

"Yeah? What about them?"

"They're after me. They're supposed to bring me back to my parents."

"Hey, there's someone else with them. He has sort of silvery-blue hair…"

Exylim gasped again. "I have to go hide. If I'm not back by tonight, something happened to me," she said before running off.

"Wait!" he called after her but she was already gone.

--

Exylim ran down through the Great Maw, looking for a place to hide. She ran into the Dark Depths and smack into someone.

"Well look who it is. If it isn't Xemnas's runaway member. I wonder what he'd give me for bringing you back."

--

Roxas and Demyx asked around, trying to see if anyone had seen Exylim. This was there fourth day of looking for her after seeing her in Twilight Town. "Excuse me…" Roxas began saying. The man turned around. Cloud glared down at him. "Um… Have you seen a girl my age with black and red hair anywhere?" Roxas stuttered under the man's glare.

"No," he replied icily then walked away.

"Geez, what's his problem?" Demyx said.

"I don't know, but I don't like him," Roxas said.

"Would you two stop asking and start searching?!" Axel asked.

"Let's check the castle first," Zexion said, heading towards the bailey. Roxas, Demyx, and Axel followed tiredly.

--

"Who are you?" Exylim asked.

"My name is Sephiroth and you're coming with me whether you want to or not," the man replied.

"I'm not going with out a fight!" Exylim said angrily, summoning her sword. Sephiroth grinned evilly and lunged forward immediately. Exylim barely jumped out of the way. Sephiroth disappeared into darkness and reappeared behind her. She spun around and blocked his sword. He swung repeatedly at her. She jumped over him but he reappeared in front of her. She blocked his sword head on. He pushed down on his sword. Exylim slid back a little and used her other hand to push back. He forced her onto her knees then pulled back. She tried to jump up but he grabbed her by the neck and lifted her up. She tried slice him with her sword and instead felt his sword pierced through her shoulder where her heart would be. She dropped her sword as his blade stuck out of her back. Her sword hit the ground and disappeared. He pulled his sword out of her body, stabbed her through the stomach, and then dropped her. She stood on her feet and gazed up at him. Blood gushed out of the wounds and down her front. She fell to the ground and the last thing she saw was Sephiroth walking away.

--

Zexion trudged into the Great Maw, almost giving up hope of finding his sister. Roxas, Demyx, and Axel followed him. Roxas hadn't spoken a word since they had seen Cloud. Demyx and Axel had talked a little but Zexion's mood silenced them. They walked into the Dark Depths. Zexion stopped short. Roxas and Demyx crashed into each other. Axel calmly stopped and gazed at what Zexion was looking at. Exylim lay on the ground in a pool of blood.

"Exylim!" Zexion cried as his senses came back to him. He sprinted forward to her.

--

Exylim heard her name be called out. She opened her eyes. The world was blurry and red but she could see the figure with silvery blue hair running towards her. She growled and jumped up, summoning her sword. Zexion halted immediately. Roxas and Demyx both started forward but Axel stopped them.

"This is their fight," he said calmly.

Exylim charged at her brother but he stepped out of the way. She spun around and tried to swing at him. He just jumped back farther away. She ran at him ready to slash him into pieces but she stumbled. Zexion caught her as she fell. Her sword flew out of her hand and skidded across the ground. Zexion dropped to his knees and cradled her in his arms. She tried to get away but pain spread through her body. She looked up at her brother then passed out.

--

Zexion stared down at his sisters limp body. Blood covered her whole body and was still gushing out of the wound. Zexion picked her up as Roxas, Demyx, and Axel ran over. "We need to get her to Vexen, now!" Zexion cried. Axel opened a portal and they all ran through it.

"Vexen! Help!" Roxas cried. Vexen walked through a portal.

"What do…? What the hell happened to her?! Never mind, just set her down!" he ordered. Zexion set her down on the hospital bed as Vexen grabbed a towel and a lot of bandages. Axel pulled Demyx and Roxas out of the room.

"They don't need our help. They can handle it themselves," he said to them.

"But she's practically dying!" Roxas cried.

"They don't need us! Just go get the Superior!" Axel shouted at him. Roxas cowered down a little then ran through a portal.

--

Zexion and Vexen worked as hard as they could to stop the bleeding. After about 5 minutes they got it to stop. Xemnas walked into the room through a portal. As soon as he saw the blood and Exylim, he pushed Zexion out of the way. He and Vexen pulled of her top and began cleaning the wounds and wrapping bandages over them. Zexion paced back and forth and handed them anything that they called for.

Finally, they stopped and looked down at her. Her whole upper torso was covered in bandages. She had dried blood on her face and some of it was in her eyes. Zexion wiped it away with a wet rag, along with any other blood. Xemnas turned to walk away, and then said, "Keep a close eye on her." He opened a portal and walked away. Vexen gathered the spare bandages and bloody towels. He walked away, leaving Zexion to watch over his unconscious sister.

Zexion moved over to the side of the bed and brushed the hair off of her face. Her hair was stuck together, covered in blood from lying in it for who knows how long.

"Zexion, go clean yourself up," Vexen ordered.

"But what about her?" Zexion replied.

"I'll take care of her. Now go," Vexen replied, shooing Zexion out of the room.

--

Two days later, Exylim hadn't woken up yet. Zexion watched her, anxiously. It seemed like every minute someone was in the room. Roxas and Demyx came in more than anyone, also anxious. Zexion spent countless hours cleaning anything in the hospital wing. He moved onto the counter next to Exylim's bed and began cleaning.

--

Exylim slowly opened her eyes and blinked. Her whole body hurt like hell and she couldn't remember what happened, until it all came rushing back to her. She looked around the room, making the bed creak. She heard someone next to the bed, rummaging through things. Exylim turned her head and the bed creaked again. The person turned around and stared at her. She met eyes with her brother, who returned the gaze. Exylim's eyes narrowed and turned red. Zexion's eyes widened. He vaulted over the bed as Exylim jumped out of it, throwing the blanket off of the bed. Zexion landed in front of Exylim. She glared at him as the blanket fluttered down in front of them. He took a step forward and Exylim punched him in the nose as hard as she could. He stumbled back as Exylim ran around him and out the door. She raced down the hall, past the living room and past Xemnas's office.

--

Zexion stumbled back and clutched his now bleeding nose. Vexen ran in, hearing the commotion.

"Quick, Exylim is getting away!" Zexion shouted and took off running. He ran past the living room, where Xigbar, Lexaeus, and Xaldin were looking down the hall. Xemnas and Saïx were also looking down the hall, just in time to see Exylim sprinting away.

"What the hell is going on?!" Xemnas shouted as Zexion ran by.

"Exylim is escaping!" Vexen shouted, out of breath. Xigbar, Lexaeus, Xaldin, Saïx, and Xemnas joined the chase.

--

Exylim ran up the flights of stairs, down halls, and up more stairs until she bursted through the door into the top room of the tower. She spun around, only to see that see was cornered. She raced over to one of the windows and took a few steps back. Everyone ran into the room and stopped.

"What the- don't you dare!" Xemnas shouted. Exylim ran towards the window and jumped, glassing shattering and joining her free fall out of the tower.

"Coming through!" Xigbar shouted, pushing past everyone. He dove out of the window and began moving in on Exylim who was about 50 feet below him. She spun around in the air and looked up (or down, however you look at it). She grabbed a few of the glass shards that had fallen with her and began throwing them at Xigbar. He dodged them and began disappearing and reappearing even closer. Exylim launched fireballs at him but he just dodged them. She spun back around and faced the ground. She pulled her arms close to her body and kept her feet together, falling faster, trying to get away from Xigbar but it was no use. He closed in on her and grabbed her arm. A portal opened beneath them and they fell through it.

--

Xemnas paced back and forth as everyone else waited silently. A portal opened behind them and Xigbar and Exylim came skidding out.

--

Xigbar pulled Exylim close to him as they came out of the portal. He wrapped his arms around her as they skidded across the floor. Exylim slide out of his arms as they skidded to a stop. Xigbar grabbed her arm and stood up. He pulled her up and his grip tightened. She tried to pull away from him but he held fast.

"Well done, II. As for you, XV, what were you thinking, running away when you were injured? Why the hell did you run away in the first place?" Xemnas shouted at her.

Exylim didn't reply and just stared at the ground. Her body hurt from running and from skidding across the floor.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you!" Xemnas cried. Exylim slowly rose her gaze up to meet his eyes. Her eyes glowed red and she growled at him. Zexion stepped forward. Exylim turned her eyes to him and glared at him. She pulled away from Xigbar and ran at Zexion. Saïx grabbed her before she could get to him and Lexaeus grabbed her other arm. She tried to pull away but they were too strong. She gave up and hung her head, letting her hair fall from her shoulders. She glared at Zexion and bared her fangs at him. He stared back emotionless.

"Saïx, keep an eye on her. Lock her in your room for all I care," Xemnas ordered before storming through a portal. Xaldin, Vexen, Xigbar, and Lexaeus left, all casting one last glance at Exylim. Saïx picked Exylim up and slung her over his shoulder. She tried to kick him and pounded his back with her fists. She stopped as the pain caught up with her. Zexion still stood in front of them.

"Move aside," Saïx said coolly. Zexion stepped to the side. Exylim glared at him as Saïx carried her away. He carried her into a portal and into a hallway.

"I can walk you know," she said after a while.

"Oh really?" Saïx replied.

"Yes, now put me down." Saïx set her down and she took a step, only to fall forward. Saïx caught her easily and picked her up again, this time in his arms. She cringed in pain. Saïx carried her into his room and set her down next to his bed. He pulled a chain out and chained her arm to the bedpost. She pulled on the chain and looked up at him. "You win. I'm not going anywhere," she said.

"Good," he replied.

"Um… I'm gunna need a pillow and a blanket or something…and a shirt…" she said, looking down at the bandages. Saïx sighed.

"I'll be right back," he said, then walked out of the door.

Exylim leaned back against the bed frame and melted the chain. She rose to her feet, using the bed for support. She summoned a metal baseball bat and moved behind the door.

A few minutes later, the door opened and Saïx walked in. He looked around and Exylim swung the bat. It hit his head hard and he crumbled to the ground, unconscious. Exylim dragged him into the room and closed the door. She dragged him into his closet and chained his arms and feet together. She tore a piece of the blanket off and gagged him. "Sorry, Sai," she whispered and closed the door. She grabbed the shirt he had brought her and slipped it on. She took one last look around the room and walked through a portal into Hallow Bastion.

She walked into Merlin's house and looked around. Everyone stared back at her. She grinned sheepishly at them then passed out.

AN: lol, that last part is my favorite part in the chapter! XD


	14. Chapter 14

Xemnas and Xigbar waited outside Saïx's door, waiting for him to open it.

"Maybe he's asleep," Xigbar said after they knocked again.

"He's not. Saïx open up now!" Xemnas ordered. They heard muffled shouting and banging. Xemnas barged into the room and looked around. The room was empty.

"The closet!" Xigbar said and opened in up. He and Xemnas stared down at Saïx who was chained up and gagged. Xemnas ripped the gag off.

Saïx coughed and said, "She got away!"

"How?" Xigbar asked as he unchained Saïx.

Saïx rubbed the bump on his head. "She hit me with something metal. I had chained her wrist to the bed…Gah! Stupid!" he shouted, whacking his forehead. "She must have melted the metal!"

"Well, she didn't kill you," Xigbar said. Xemnas and Saïx glared at him. "Um…I'm gunna go now," he said and disappeared out the door. Saïx stood up and rubbed the bump again.

"I'm sorry Superior. It's my fault that she got away again," he said, looking down at the ground.

"It's alright. Get some ice to put on that," Xemnas said, putting his hand on Saïx's shoulder. Saïx nodded and portalled out. Xemnas sighed and walked into the moonlight. He stared at his beloved Kingdom Hearts. "What am I supposed to do? She got away again. Why did she leave? I'm going to hold a meeting tomorrow. Hopefully I'll get some information," he said, talking to himself. He sighed and portalled out.

---

Exylim awoke in a familiar room. She stared up at the blue ceiling. Her whole body hurt and the pain was overwhelming but she could feel someone gripping her hand. She looked down and stared at the familiar blonde. She smile then cringed in pain. She clutched her shoulder. Cloud was sitting in a chair but he had slumped over onto the bed. He was holding her hand tightly… a little too tight. Exylim cringed again and pulled her hand away from his. She sat up and clutched her stomach. Cloud woke up and sat up quickly. He stared at her and jumped up.

"You're awake! Thank god!" he said, hugging her. Exylim cringed and pulled away. "What's wrong…" he trailed off as he noticed that she was clutching her shoulder and stomach in pain. He put his hand on hers and pulled it off of her stomach. She looked into his eyes and he stared back, and then dropped his gaze to her stomach. He pulled her shirt up, revealing the bandages.

"What happened?" he asked concerned. Exylim pulled her shirt back down.

"I…was attacked…by a man…" she said, obviously in pain. Cloud laid her back down.

"That's all I need to know. Just rest. I'm going to tell the others that you're okay," he said. Exylim nodded a little and then closed her eyes.

--

"I'm sure most of you know that Exylim has disappeared again," Xemnas started.

"So? Who cares about the brat?" Larxene said, examining her nails.

"And I need to know why. If anyone knows why, speak up now," he finished.

Roxas glared at Zexion who only stared at his feet.

"I'm not sticking around for this. I have better things to do," Larxene stated and portalled out. Xaldin, Luxord, Vexen, Lexaeus, and Marluxia followed her suit. Xigbar portalled out after a few seconds too. Axel and Demyx looked at each other and left. Roxas left silently with one last glare at Zexion.

"Saïx, you may leave," Xemnas said, catching the look in Roxas's eyes. Saïx left with a questioning look.

"VI, do you know why?" Xemnas asked.

"…It's my fault…I shouldn't have…She hates me now…" Zexion, mumbled, still staring at his feet.

"Hmph. I see. It will be your responsibility to bring her back, unconscious or not," Xemnas ordered firmly.

"…Yes Superior…" Zexion replied.

"You may go," Xemnas said and portalled out. Zexion remained in his throne.

"She told me what happened," a voice said. Zexion jumped and looked around. Roxas came out of a portal, sitting on his throne. "So why did you hit her?" he asked. Zexion looked down again. He stared calmly at Zexion, waiting for a reply.

"Why should I tell you?" he said after a while.

"Because I care for her. Its not like you do," Roxas replied.

"Since when have you cared?" Zexion retorted.

"Since I found her in her room crying." Zexion looked up, startled.

"W-what?" he asked.

"You hit her! You pretty much told her you're ashamed of her! How could you?" Roxas shouted, standing up.

"She was talking trash about Firyx! I had to do something!" Zexion replied, also standing up.

"So you hit her?!"

"It's not like that! I…" Zexion trailed off.

"You hit her," Roxas stated. He glared at Zexion and portalled away. Zexion dropped to his knees.

"What have I done…" he muttered, bringing his hands up to his face.

--

Exylim awoke to the sun shining on her face and a searing pain running through her chest. She gasped for air and clutched her chest.

"Wah! Cloud! Someone!" she heard a voice shout. Leon appeared in her view. "Whoa! Easy! Calm down!" he said franticly.

"Move!" another voice shouted. Cloud shoved Leon out of the way and placed a wet rag on her forehead and then grabbed her bad shoulder. Exylim gasped and began breathing again. Leon sighed in relief.

"What? What's wrong? Aerith, get some potions!" There was a loud crashed. Yuffie sprung up and practically tackled Cloud. "WHAT? WHAT'S WRONG?!" she screamed.

"YUFFIE! CALM DOWN!" Leon shouted. Yuffie froze in place.

"SORRY!"

"STOP SCREAMING!" Cloud shouted.

"SORRY!" Leon and Yuffie shouted.

"What's wrong? I have…potions…" Aerith trailed off. "Yuffie…"

"SORRY!"

"YUFFIE!!" Leon and Cloud shouted.

"SORRY!" Yuffie shouted before covering her mouth with her hands. They all turned back to the bed. Exylim had turned over on her stomach and was covering her head with a pillow. Leon grinned and leaned over the bed near her head. He opened his mouth, only to receive a mouthful of pillow. Cloud snickered. Leon mumbled something from behind the pillow before yanking it off and throwing it back onto Exylim.

"Make the loud people do away!" she cried, grabbing another pillow.

"You heard the lady, OUT!" Cloud ordered. Everyone shuffled out. Cloud closed the door and sighed. "They're gone," he said.

"Good," Exylim sighed. She flopped back onto her back and sat up.

"Easy. You should rest for a while," Cloud said, placing his hand on her forehead.

"Cloud, what are you doing?" she asked.

"You have a fever," he said.

"No I don't. I feel fine…Well, other than the fact that I've been stabbed," she replied.

"Hm. Well you're hot. And don't take that wrong," he said.

"I'm always hot!"

"But you're…Gah! Enough with this. You're resting even if you don't want to," Cloud said, pushing her down so she was lying down again. Exylim pouted but remained down. She closed her eyes and Cloud left.

---

Exylim sat, staring at the ceiling. Cloud wasn't letting her out of the room, nor out of the bed. He would yell at her if she tried to get out of the bed. She sighed. Cloud had gone to use the bathroom. She sat up, and swung her feet out of the bed. She stood up, wobbling for a few seconds before gaining balance. She started making her way over to the door but fell to her knees halfway. She felt a hand grab her and pull her up. Cloud stared sternly down at her but she could see sympathy in his eyes. He picked her up and set her back onto the bed. Exylim looked away from him, waiting for him to say something about her being foolish.

Cloud sighed. "I'm not going to yell at you. You already know what I'll say," he said.

"Yeah… But I'm bored!" she said, throwing up her hands and falling back onto her back.

"I can get Yuffie to talk to you as a punishment," he said, smirking.

"No! Anything but that!" Exylim cried, covering her ears.

"Anything, you say?" he said, still smirking. He jumped on top of her and started tickling her. She squeaked and began giggling.

"No! Stop! Please!" she said in between giggles.

"Nope!"

"No-Cloud, it hurts!" she said. Cloud stopped and jumped off of her.

"Are you okay? I-" He was cut of by a pillow hitting his face. Exylim grinned at him.

"Haha! You fell for it!" she said, laughing. Cloud lunged for her.

"AH! Don't hurt me!" she cried, diving under the sheets. Cloud grinned.

"Ha. Now get some sleep," he said, becoming serious again.

"Aw, you're no fun," came a muffled reply.

"Yuffie is still up for grabs," he said evilly before walking out of the room.

"NO! Cloud! Don't!" Exylim shouted, trying to get out of the bed. She got tangled in the sheets and fell off the bed. "Cloud appeared in the doorway. Exylim grinned sheepishly at him. He sighed and picked her up and set her back on the bed again after he untangled her.

"Sleep," he ordered.

"Fine!" Exylim cried. She turned over onto her side and pouted.

---

Exylim stared blankly at the wall as Yuffie continued on and on. Leon was listening to his iPod on full blast. Exylim sighed and closed her eyes.

After a few minutes, she heard Leon say to Yuffie, "Nice going. You put her to sleep."

"No I didn't! I bet she's just tired," Yuffie replied.

"Pff, after doing what? Sitting in bed all day?" Leon retorted.

"…You can still get tired from that!"

"Whatever. We should leave her to rest." Exylim heard shuffling and the door closing. She opened her eyes and swung her feet out of bed. She stood up and began moving slowly towards the door. She stumbled a little and heard the door open. Cloud stared at her before making his way over to her.

"…Cloud, I want to walk," she said quietly. Cloud only nodded and grabbed her elbow to steady her. They made their way down the hall and out the door. They walked slowly to the bailey before sitting down to rest. They sat there for awhile watching the clouds pass by over them. They then got up and made their way to Crystal Fissure. Exylim tripped over one of the small crystals and started to fall. Cloud grabbed the back of her shirt and pulled her back on to her feet.

"Thanks," she gasped. Cloud didn't reply and picked her up instead. She squeaked and grabbed his shirt. "Stop with the picking me up when I least expect it!" she exclaimed. Cloud grinned a little then became serious again. He walked over to one of the crystals and set her down next to it. He sat next to her and sighed. They sat in silence for a few minutes.

"What is your world like?" Exylim asked, breaking the silence.

"Hm? Oh…well…it's called Gaia. I lived in the city Midgar…" Cloud went on, describing his home-world (which I'm too lazy to write) while Exylim listened. She watched the images that flashed through his mind. Every now and then she would ask a question.

"What about your world?" Cloud asked her. Exylim stayed silent. "Come on, it's only fair if you tell me," he said, a touch of hurt in his voice.

Exylim paused before saying quietly, "…It's dark…full of tall buildings…" she trailed off and stared at the ground.

"Is that all?!?" Cloud asked, growing impatient. Exylim stayed silent again. "I can't believe you. I tell you about my world and you won't even give me a sentence about yours!"

"Well sor-ree," she exclaimed, standing up.

"I give you a home, a family, and take care of you and you do nothing in return! You could at least show some love or appreciation!" he yelled, standing up as well.

"I can't!" she exclaimed and ran away as fast as she could.

Exylim kept running until tears blurred her vision and caused her to stumble. She paused to wipe away her tears then continued walking. She shoved her hands into her pockets and stared at the ground. After a few minutes, she ran into something hard…and warmish. Exylim lifted her head and stared at the leather coat and metal shoulder guards.

"...shit…" she said sheepishly then looked up. Sephiroth glared down at her.

"I don't suppose we have to go through the same thing as last time," he stated.

"…nah. I'm not in the mood to be stabbed…" she replied. Sephiroth grinned and grabbed her shoulder tightly. Exylim winced and tried to pull away. He slammed her into the stone wall and her vision went black as a pain shot up her back.

--

Exylim awoke, suspended above the ground from chains around her wrists. She looked around wearily. She seemed to be in some sort of dungeon. Exylim sighed and melted the chains trapping her wrists. As soon as she had melted both chains, she dropped and crumpled to her knees, weak from being slammed into stone. She curled into a ball and waited for the pain to reside.

--

After hours of sitting, Sephiroth came to retrieve her. He pulled her off of the ground and through a dark-portal. They came out on the path to the Organization's castle. Sephiroth dragged Exylim to the giant door and knocked.

--

A knock rang out through castle.

"I got it!" Demyx shouted, running to the door.

"Ha. Nice try Waterboy!" Xigbar shouted as he appeared in front of the door. Demyx pouted and retreated back to his sitar. Xigbar opened the door and was surprised to see Sephiroth, holding Exylim who was staring at the ground.

"Take me to Xemnas," Sephiroth commanded. Xigbar stepped aside as Sephiroth dragged Exylim in. Xigbar led the way to Xemnas's office and knocked.

"What?" came an angry reply.

"Uh, you have a visitor…Sephiroth is here…"

There was a pause before Sephiroth barged in with Exylim in tow. Xigbar shot her a look as he closed the door.

"I believe I have something of yours…" Sephiroth said, pushing Exylim forward. Xemnas stayed quiet. "I will trade her," Sephiroth continued, "for Firyx."

Exylim winced at Firyx's name. Xemnas let out a small humph.

"Fair enough."

"Tell Firyx she has 3 days to get her stuff," Sephiroth said before dragging Exylim off.

--

"You'll never believe it. Sephiroth caught Exylim," Xigbar said as she walked back into the living room where Demyx, Roxas, and Axel were sprawled on the couch.

"What?!" Roxas exclaimed, sitting up.

"He caught her?" Axel asked. Xigbar nodded. Roxas got up and walked out into the Hall of Empty Melodies just in time to see Sephiroth dragging Exylim through by her hair.

"Ow, ow, ow! I can walk on my own you know. I ran _away_, what makes you think I would try to escape?" Exylim said as she was painfully dragged.

"Hmph."

Exylim sighed as she was released and trailed behind the silver-haired man. She glanced up at Roxas and Demyx then immediately dropped her gaze to the ground as they stared at her with looks of betrayal. Roxas was giving her the most hurt look ever. Exylim pulled her hood up and followed Sephiroth through a portal.

---The Next Day---

Exylim sighed, watching Sephiroth do nothing but stare at the Villain's Vale. She was sitting on the ground leaning against the ravine wall. She sighed again and snapped. A small flame flickered to life over her thumb. The flame divided into two other parts, dancing around each other and her thumb. Exylim glanced up at Sephiroth and grinned. The flames left her fingers and headed toward Sephiroth.

--

Sephiroth's thoughts were interrupted when three small flames came into sight. He glanced at them as they spun around his head. His hand shot up and grabbed the flames. He opened his fist and the flames had disappeared.

---

Sephiroth turned to glare at Exylim and she pressed back up against the wall. He turned back to face the cliff edge. Exylim pouted and snapped again. This time, the flame engulfed her hand, then arm, until eventually, her whole body was engulfed in fire. She sat, grinning slightly, in the hot, crackling fire that wasn't burning her or her clothing.

Sephiroth turned around and stared at her. He raised an eyebrow and asked, "You lit yourself on fire?"

Exylim shrugged, still grinning, and replied, "Yeah, I guess I did."

Sephiroth rolled his eyes. Exylim pouted and let the flames die. "You are of no use to me. You may leave but, god help, if you don't return tonight, I will kill you," he said.

Exylim shot up like a bullet and saluted him. "Yes, sir!" she said grinning, before taking off. Sephiroth rolled his eyes again and turned back around.

--

Exylim raced through the Great Maw and into the Crystal Fissure before finally slowing down to a walk. She walked up the Ravine Trail before coming to a sudden halt. _What if Cloud doesn't want me back?_ She thought to herself. _After all, he's right. I don't show any thanks, nor emotion._ Exylim sighed.

"Well, there's only one way to find out."

---

Exylim walked into the Bailey and stopped in her tracks. Cloud stared at her and she returned his gaze. He hesitated before slowly walking towards her. She broke into a run and hugged him tightly. He returned the hug and they both said, "I'm sorry."

"Wait, why are you sorry?" Cloud asked pulling away from her. "I'm the one who yelled at you."

Exylim stared at the ground. "I'm sorry…because I can't tell you," she said softly.

Cloud cupped her chin in his hand and forced her to look at him. He stared at her before releasing her chin. "I'm not going to ask why. Just understand that you can tell me anything. Like where you've been," he said, with an edge of worry on his voice.

Exylim grinned. "Well, I didn't get attacked this time," she said. Cloud rolled his eyes.

"Come on, the others have been worried too," he said. She nodded and they headed towards Merlin's House.

---

"EXYLIM!" Yuffie cried as she tackled her in a hug. They fell over backwards, giggling madly. "Where were you?! You missed the best prank EVER!" Yuffie shouted.

Exylim noticed Leon's face turn into a scowl. She laughed and replied, "Away. What did you do to him?"

Yuffie jumped up as Leon advanced towards her. He chased her around the room and out the door. Exylim laughed and got up. "Things haven't changed a bit."

Cloud gave a small _humph_ and walked over to Cid.

"AHH! HE'S AFTER MY LUCKY CHARMS!" Yuffie cried as she ran in and locked the door.

"Yuffie!" they heard Leon shout from outside the door. Everyone laughed.


End file.
